Lies My Partner Told Me
by Mr. Chaos
Summary: Beckett has always wondered what Castle was like before they met. A visit by Nick Fury reveals he has a past she never could imagined and draws the two into the battle against Loki. Spoilers for 'Always' and a retelling of the CASTLE. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

May 8th, 2012

Richard Castle's Loft Apartment

"_-tican announced today that they are ending their feud with writer Kevin Allen, stating he can keep the pope's hat. Mr. Allen has said in previous interviews that he stole the hat because he believed it contained mystical moon cloth that would-"_

Beckett blinked, running her hand along her face. She stared up at the ceiling that was not her own and tried her hardest to figure out what exactly was going on. Morning amnesia was great when you wanted to forget about an annoying dentist appointment, but wasn't so hot when you find yourself in a strange place with no idea how you had gotten there.

Like a good detective, Beckett began to gather evidence. She was in a large room with a vaulted ceiling and cream colored walls. The large window to her left gave her a magnificent view of the city. The bed she was lying in was rather large, with chocolate colored sheets that clung to her naked breasts.

'Wait a minute…'

Beckett wiggled a bit, confirming that she was indeed missing her normal sleepwear (a pair of men's boxers, a tank top and little else). She brought her hand away from her face, finding it speckled with droplets of perspiration. She felt worn out and tired and beat down…and more relaxed and happy than she had ever known.

Turning her head, she looked on the naked form of her companion and the silly smile that had been on her lips since she awoke grew all the more brilliant. The memories came flooding back to her: Castle leaving in disgust, her clinging to the ledge and being saved by Ryan, the chief demanding her badge…and her tossing it away along with her career…

She wasn't a cop anymore. That was a startling thought. Nearly half her life had been spent being a cop, catching bad guys and staring down the worst humanity had to offer. And with one case, one decision on her part, it was all gone.

But considering the prize that had been at the end of that angst rainbow…well, it was damn worth it.

"What are you thinking about?" Castle said lazily, his face half-buried in his pillow.

"How do you know I was thinking?" Beckett asked.

"You get this weird stare going…like a dog that spots a juicy steak."

Beckett lightly smacked him on the shoulder. "Do you call all the women you sleep with dogs?"

"No…just you," Castle said. It was cheesy and lame and should have made her roll her eyes…but Beckett couldn't help but feel her heart melt just a touch at it. "So, what are you thinking about?"

"My life."

"Ah, that," Castle said with a laugh.

Beckett rolled over so she could look at him, the sheet just barely keeping her modest. "You know, I haven't had a day in…decades…where I didn't wake up and know I needed to get right out of bed because I might get a call dragging me to work. Even last summer, I kept waking up thinking that today would be the day I would get the call to come back, that they were saying screw it to the rules and let me get back on the beat early.

"For the first time in…forever…I can actually sleep in." Beckett laughed at this and Castle found himself joining in if only because she was laughing and it felt so good. "I can sit on the couch and pig out on junk food and not worry about it slowing me down while I chase after a suspect. I can take a 5 hour bath and not feel like I am wasting the day. If I wanted, I could spend my entire day in bed just being lazy and not have to deal with any stress." She shook her head in good mirth. "It's…freeing."

Castle ran his hand along her shoulder. He knew, soon enough, the joy that came from new things would die off and Beckett's mood would come crashing down. She would realize what she had thrown away and it wouldn't be giggles that came out. He would be there, though, for the good and the bad. He'd made that mistake too many times with too many women and he wasn't going to repeat his failures. Not when he had her in his arms.

For the first time in a long time Richard Castle felt the walls he himself had built around his heart crumble. He'd hidden them better than Beckett but that didn't mean they weren't there.

'18 years,' he thought. 'It's been 18 years since I felt this way.' His mind flashed way back, to another brunette, laughing and cuddling with him…

"Castle…are you ok?" Beckett moved closer to him, placing a hand on his chest.

"Yeah, why?"

"You began to breath funny…"

Castle did his best to tamp down bad memories that had invaded his mind. There was no room for them now, not today. "Just thinking about last night," Castle said, not needing to force the smile too much.

Beckett flashed her pearly whites and laid her head on his chest, curling her leg around him. It just felt so right to be with him like this. His skin against hers…the sound of his heart beating against her ear, and…

"ugh," Beckett pulled away, Castle's brow knitting in confusion. "Sorry…but you stink!"

Castle lifted his arm up, giving it a whiff. "Well, yeah…but I did have quite a workout last night. And you aren't exactly daisy fresh yourself." He heaved himself up, Beckett blushing like a virgin (which Castle could attest she was not) at the sight of him. "Come on, time to get cleaned up."

"Who's going first?"

"Who said anything about separate showers?"

~MC~MC~MC~

After using up all the hot water the building had, Castle and Beckett had dried off and fixed themselves up enough to attempt a late breakfast. Castle had warned Beckett that while his mother and daughter were suppose to be out all day, there was always the chance they would come popping back in and, as much as naked breakfast would be fun, it would be wise to be somewhat dressed just in case.

Beckett wrapped Castle's silk robe tighter around her. Castle had loaned her one of his undershirts and a pair of boxers since all of her clothing had been soaked by the rain, while he donned some sleep pants and faded cloth shorts.

They'd began to make their way out of the bedroom when they heard the clank and clatter of pans coming from the kitchen. "Told you," Castle said with a smirk, giving Beckett's hand a squeeze before the two of them entered the living room. "Alexis, I know that you were worried about me, but you didn't-"

Castle's comment died in his throat.

Sitting at his kitchen counter was a dark skinned man dressed all in black. His head was shaved and he had a little goatee…and a black eye patch over his left eye that barely hid the jagged scars that ran across the socket.

"Hope you don't mind, but I made pancakes. Heard that was the best thing for the morning after." Unless Alexis had undergone a sex change, this was clearly not Castle's little girl.

Beckett opened her mouth, only to be cut off by Castle. "What the hell are you doing here, Fury?"

"We need to talk, Doctor."

Beckett was taken aback by the rage that was flowing off Castle's form. Even when they had fought yesterday he hadn't been this upset. She was actually scared he might try and attack the intruder. "Castle, who is this? And why did he call you Doctor?"

Castle ground his teeth so hard he was sure they were going to shattered. "Beckett, this is Nick Fury, director of the Strategic-"

"We call it SHIELD now, Doctor." Fury took another bite of pancake. "I was worried you guys would never get out of the shower. Didn't want your breakfast to get cold."

"Get the hell out of my apartment, Fury."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. The world needs you."

"Not interested," Castle said coldly. "Now, please leave the pancakes and go."

Fury, however, made no move to leave. He merely sat there calmly, cutting up another pancake and swirling it in syrup. Castle, realizing that Fury wouldn't leave until he had said what he wanted to say, sat moved to join him.

"Castle, what are you doing? You aren't going to actually eat with him, are you?"

"Yes, he is. Feel free to join us, Miss Beckett."

"You…you know my name?"

Fury looked at her with his one good eye. "Katherine Beckett. Formerly a detective with the NYPD. You live 7.8 miles from here and go by the user name TherealNikkiHeat on the Richard Castle fansite."

"You've been spying on her?" Castle asked sternly.

"On everyone at the precinct. We like to know what is going on with our agents, Doctor. " Fury dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "By the way, you really should have contacted us about that whole Joanna Beckett murder. We could have saved you a lot of grief."

Beckett's eyes widened at that. "What…what do you know about my mother's murder?"

Fury pushed a plate filled with pancakes over to her. "Your mother was killed on orders of Wilson Fisk, otherwise known as The Kingpin. We arrested him this morning, along with Cole Maddox, the man that threw you off that building yesterday. " Fury pulled out a file that had been laying next to his orange juice and showed it to the writer and former detective. "You two were in way over your head. Cole Maddox is an alias for Brock Rumlow, known as the mercenary Crossbones. The fact that he didn't gut you like a fish means that Lady Luck is smiling upon you."

Beckett stared at the image of Cole/Crossbones, dressed in military gear and a strange skull-marked mask. She could still feel the rooftop slipping from her fingers as gravity dragged her down towards the street below. Castle, sensing her discomfort, wrapped an arm around her.

"Consider the case close, Miss Beckett. Even if Fisk manages to get out of jail he won't dare come after you again. I've set some things up to keep his attentions focused elsewhere." Fury looked at Castle with annoyance. "But I am disappointed in you and Agent Rodgers. You both should have contacted me about this."

"I didn't know it involved…your world," Castle said dumbly. "If I did…"

"If you did you still wouldn't have contacted me because you are pigheaded."

Castle growled. "You haven't always been able to clean up messes, Fury. That's why I left, remember."

"I do, Doctor, I do. And it is such a mess that brings me here."

Beckett frowned; her head feeling like it was spinning. "Why do you keep calling him Doctor?"

"Not interested," Castle said firmly.

"Even if it means the fate of the world?" Fury asked.

"My world is my family. Always has been."

Fury stood up, collecting all but one of the files he'd brought. "We'll be talking again when I have time, Doctor. I just hope there is a world for us to live on." With that Fury showed himself out, leaving a stunned Beckett and a fuming Castle in his wake.

"Castle…what…what the hell was that?" Beckett exploded seconds after Fury left. Castle, for his part, glumly chewed on his pancakes, hating to admit that Nick had made some tasty flapjacks. "Who was that man? How did he know all that about me…and my mother…" Beckett felt faint. If Fury was telling the truth…her mother's killers had been brought to justice and she was finally safe. She moved away from the kitchen counter, needing to move, to walk and pace and work off the nervous energy that flooded her system. "I…I just don't understand! Why did he keep calling you Doctor? You know him, don't you? Is he some government agent you shadowed for a novel? Because I've read everything and I think I would have remembered reading about a guy based on Samuel L. Jackson's scary cycloptic brother!"

Castle couldn't help but smile slightly at her comment, but still his heart ached. Everything had been going so well with him and Beckett, finally being able to be together with nothing to stand in the way…and Fury had to come and drag the ghosts of the past in and spoil everything.

"Kate…sit down."

Beckett didn't protest, numbly falling onto the couch. Castle at first moved to sit across from her, but at the last moment joined her, wrapping his arms around her like she was his teddy bear.

"I've been lying to you," he said softly. Beckett opened her mouth to speak but he steamrolled past her questions. "Not just you. I've been lying to the whole world. And not for a few days, either…for almost 20 years."

"I don't understand."

"Until 1992, Richard Castle didn't exist. He was created, by the government, to hide my identity."

"Castle…what…who are you then?"

Castle sighed. "I am Richard Castle. But back then, I was a physicist and inventor working for Nick Fury." Castle lowered his head. "And my name was Dr. Hank Pym."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Just a fair warning for everyone: due to the nature of this story, the next few chapters are going to be a bit dark. There will be angst and anger and bitterness. Much like this season of Castle. But unlike this last season, my dark chapters actually serve a point and don't last most of the story.

* * *

Castle rolled his head back, staring at the ceiling. He knew Beckett was staring at him, a million questions roaring through her head. And he wanted to answer them he just…needed a moment. It had been so long since he had said that name. He'd heard the expression, "that was another life" and while he would jokingly say that it was played out and stupid, in reality he couldn't help but feel that it rang true. He'd lived almost half his life as Hank Pym and half as Richard Castle. There had been wonderful things and horrible things about both lives…but the man he had been before and the man he was now were so different.

He'd been a gangly teen, scared to talk to girls. Now he could walk into any club and get 2 women hanging off his arms. He'd wanted to be a scientist, to discover the mysteries of the world. Now he created his own worlds, filled with suspense and murder.

Beckett had once asked him why he wrote murder mystery. She'd asked who he lost…he'd played it off…

"I was recruited when I was 15 by Fury," he finally said, Beckett jumping slightly at his suddenly admission. "I swear, that man never ages, Beckett. I'd already gotten my doctorate in physics from Harvard and was expressing interest in examining atoms. I was one of those brainiacs you hear about on the nightly news, the ones that are so smart they make their professors look like morons? Kinda makes you think a bit different of me, doesn't it?"

"No, not really." Her tone, thankfully, was light. She wanted to lash out at him for having yet another secret, but she found herself holding her tongue, not expressing her feelings. There was such pain in his voice…she didn't want to cause him anymore.

"Hmmpf. Anyway, the Strategic…I mean SHIELD…wanted me to examine a formula created by this scientist, a Dr. Erskine, from back in the 40s. The chemical makeup sheets they had were incomplete and they wanted me to take a crack and figuring it out, trying to put back together the doctor's work. I've never seen anything like it…the compounds reacted with the body to promote cellular growth, kind of like a steroid does but on a much more natural scale. They are triggered by radiation… at first I thought gamma might work but I realized that doing that would result in gross mutations in the formula's makeup. It required just the right waves of energy to…"

"Castle…you are kinda losing me here." It was startling to hear her partner, who she so often brushed off as being a pretty face with an empty head, prove that he was smarter than a room full of Einsteins.

"Sorry. Anyway, while I was working on the formula I began to focus on one particular part of the reaction. What I found was…amazing. Everyone knows that there is a danger when it comes to shrinking or increasing the size of the human muscular system. It's not like the movies where a guy gets caught in a ray and grows 50 feet with no problem. The mammals are simply not built to grow that big…that's why whales need to spend their lives in the water, to support their bulk. I suppose reptilian DNA or perhaps avian, like the dinosaurs, might be able…"

"Castle!"

Castle blushed, realizing he had gone off on a tangent. "Oops, sorry. Anyway, I uncovered during my research a particle that promoted rapid cellular growth or shrinkage. It allowed a living being to grow to massive sizes without any wear and tear, or to shrink to the size of several cms. I called it the Pym Particle."

Beckett couldn't help but smile at that. "Even back then you were egotistical, weren't you?"

"Well…yeah. During this time I was assigned to work with another doctor to explore the Pym Particles. Her name was Janet van Dyne and she…she…you would have liked her, Beckett. She was spunky and outgoing but had a hard head and would fight for what she thought was right. Also liked to break the rules too. She was the one that suggested we try the stuff on ourselves…"

That got Beckett's attention. "You're joking, right?"

"I might be a genius but I am still me, Beckett. Yeah, we tried it…and ended up outgrowing our lab. And our clothes. Fury wasn't happy to find us sitting in the wreckage, wearing only our birthday suits and guilty smiles." Castle laughed at the memory of Janet trying everything to cover herself up. "Took a week to get that mess sorted out but in the end we figured out how to control the particles and were able to grow and shrink at will."

"You mean…you could become a giant right now?"

Castle shook his head. "No could, Beckett. Can. If the body absorbs enough Pym Particles they can permanently alter their size."

"Well, go ahead and do it!" Beckett didn't believe for a moment that Castle was telling the truth. Oh, she believed he was lying about his name and being a scientist; he'd rambled on enough to prove that. But she had her doubts that he could shrink down to the size of her finger or tower over her like the Jolly Green Giant.

"…let me tell you about this, and then I will, ok?" Beckett bit back her need to demand proof and allowed him to speak. "Janet and I continued to work on perfecting the Pym Particle process and other gadgets to help. Like our suits, made of unstable molecules…or Janet, she came up with razor thin wings, like a dragonfly's, that she could wear at all times. At normal size they couldn't support her weight, but when she shrank she could actually fly. She also came up with these gauntlets that harness the body's natural…ok, I can tell I'm boring you. The point is we invented stuff. And working so close together…well…you aren't the first person I fell in love with while on the job."

"You dated her?" Beckett hadn't expected her first day with Castle to involve him talking about his ex.

"She was my wife." He lowered his head, a slight smile forming on his lips, one she had never seen when he talked about Meredith of Gina. "We got married in some cheap chapel in New Jersey, just the two of us…it was tacky and silly and sweet…and then, a year later, our daughter was born. It…it was the happiest moment of my life…"

"Castle?" Beckett said, concerned exploding within her as Castle brought his hands to his eyes and choked back a sob.

"…the happiest…"

~MC~MC~MC~

April 3rd, 1994

SHIELD Research Lab, New Jersey

Hank Pym smiled; wiggling his fingers just above his daughter's flailing arms. Alexis Pym giggled; trying to catch her daddy's dancing digits, squealing in delight whenever his hand darted down to tickle her. She was a chubby, squirmy thing with matted red hair that neither Hank nor Janet was sure how she had gotten but it looked perfect on her.

The small dormitory that served as their home was for once clear of machines, test tubes and other scientific brick-a-brack. Hank's ant farm and audio receptors had been moved to his lab (where they actually belonged) and in their place were stuffed animals and a highchair.

At the moment he was sitting on the couch, his infant daughter lying on her back as he spent some much earned time playing with her. His work on the Pym Particle and other inventions for the government seemed to be always eating into his time, preventing him from spending more moments with his precious girl. Janet had been lucky; their bosses had agreed to give her a few months off to recoup, meaning she could stay home and pamper the baby all she wanted. Hank wasn't so lucky.

Alexis blinked, her lips puckering into a little 'o'. Knowing that if he didn't act fast Alexis would begin to throw a fit, Hank scooped her up and sang to her as he walked towards the kitchen to get her bottle.

When she had been born, Janet and he had worried about her health. Both of them had been exposed to the Pym Particles and built up enough of them to grow or shrink at will. While Janet had refrained from anybody changes while pregnant, both had worried that their little girl would be affected by the experiments and they would wake up one night to find her the size of an eraser head or as big as a compact car. Luckily, Alexis had shown no signs of having inherited their powers and was clearly just a happy, wiggly baby.

Janet emerged from the bathroom and made a beeline for them; snatching the bottle he'd grabbed form the fridge from his hands. "No no no."

"Hey!"

"We've talked about this, Hank! I want her breast fed. It is healthier."

Hank sighed. "Janet, the formula I created for her…"

"We are not feeding her something you cooked up in the lab!" Janet tossed the bottle into the trash and scooped Alexis up, the infant's eyes screwed shut and face turning nearly as red as her hair as she prepared for a rather loud and long crying jag. Janet, with skill all mothers seem to have, plopped down in her chair and unbuttoned her shirt, opening the nursing bra's flap and guiding Alexis to her breast. The baby silenced any tantrums and began to suckle, eyes drifting shut as she did so.

"I still don't see why you won't let try the formula. I mean, I've drank it myself…"

"No Hank…just no." Janet stroked Alexis' hair. "This is something me and her get to share in, just the two of us. "

"And what am I? Chopped liver?"

"No, you're the guy who knocked me up." Janet reached over, snagging his hand as he pouted and dragging him closer. She pulled him down, giving him a soft kiss. "Thank you for letting me have this."

Hank sighed, unable to fight her when she said something in that breathy, whispery voice of hers. "You're welcome, my love."

Janet stood up, shifting Alexis slightly before making her way towards the nursery. "Why don't you put on some music…after I get her down, I think it is time for mommy and daddy to have some fun."

Hank couldn't help but grin at that. It had been quite some time since he and Janet had been together and while he understood her need to recover, he was looking forward to being with her again. He could hear Janet humming to herself from the nursery and Hank hurried to the kitchen, looking for some of that non-alcoholic champagne he'd found last week.

"There you are you little…" Hank said with a grin, reaching for the bottle that was tucked deep in the cupboard.

And then his world rumbled.

Hank just managed to catch himself, though he did knock his head. He looked around, confused as the room trembled again.

And that is when the klaxons began to scream.

Hank went to the door, reaching for the handle as Janet emerged from the nursery, Alexis sobbing in confusion. "Wait here, I'll-"

The door blasted open, sending Hank rocketing into the fridge. He saw stars, his vision cloudy. He made out the form of a man hurrying into the room, followed by agents. The men aimed their weapons, only for the intruder to tilt his head. The agents screamed as they were smashed to the ground, crushed like eggs on a hot sidewalk.

Hank steadied himself, slowly rising to his feet, watching as the man who he now recognized as fellow scientist Franklin Hall turned towards his wife.

"Sorry…wrong place, wrong time." Franklin looked at the ceiling and Hank could only watch in horror as it came crashing down on top of his wife and child.

"NOOOO!" Hank screamed, his body reacting with primal fury. Franklin didn't even have a chance to look at him before Hank was on him, enlarging himself to 50 feet, then 100. The complex crumbled around him as Hank grabbed Franklin and lifted him high into the air. He could feel the scientist struggling, the powers he had somehow gained the only thing keeping him alive. He'd somehow given himself the ability to control gravity and could create pockets of dense force to protect himself.

Hank didn't care.

He slammed his fist down into the parking lot, driving Franklin deep into a crater. The dark haired man tried to stand, only to receive a giant fist for his troubles. Hank bellowed, doubling his size again and pummeling the earth with all his enhanced strength. He could feel his body being torn apart; Pym Particles had a limit. Going past 50 feet was dangerous, putting a strain on the body that could lead to death.

Hank didn't care.

The crater grew deeper and Franklin, not use to the powers he had accidently given himself during one of his experiments, found himself tiring. He fell to his knees, Hank raising his hand one final time, ready to squish the man like he had so callously done to Janet.

"She's alive!"

How Hank heard that over the sirens and his own heart thudding he would never know. But that call, from one of the rescuers, was enough to pull him from the rage he had felt. Franklin weakly looked up to see Hank slowly shrinking down, but before he could attack the giant agents were swarming him and injecting him with something so that he saw no more.

Hank did not give him a second thought, rushing towards the ruined remains of his home. Several doctors were on hand, whispering about a 'miracle'. His breath came out in painful gasps and he pushed arise one of the nurses who offered him a blanket. He hadn't even realized he was naked, having grown out of his clothing during the attack.

His focus was on one doctor, cradling a whimpering Alexis in his arms.

Hank snatched his daughter from him, sobbing and kissing her fuzzy head. He thanked God or whoever was up there for protecting his daughter, for letting her live.

But his joy was short, for his eyes fell upon the broken form of his Janet.

"Hank…" she whispered, her chest wobbling like jell-o.

"Janet, I'm here…we both are…"

"Is she safe?" Janet whispered, eyes white and milky. "I…I dove on top of her…tried to shield her…is Alexis safe?"

"She right here…she's ok Janet!" Hank said, juggling the baby with one hand and clutching his wife's fingers with the other.

Janet smiled. "Good."

Her eyes drifted close.

"No…no Janet, don't do that." Alexis continued to cry, confused by what was going on. Her father drew closer to her mother's mangled form, pawing at her. "Open your eyes…come on baby, open your eyes…Janet, please…please…"

Hank's head fell to her chest as he sobbed.

"Please…don't leave us…"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: A few more dark moments in this chapter, but I assure you after this and the next chapter we will get into some fun and adventure and romance. These do serve story points though.

Also, i want to say I am enjoying this story and would love to continue it after I finish, but that will depend upon the readers and if they demand it. Please feel free to review. If you have questions, comments or corrections let me know. I am working on a novel as I write this so my attention is focused on editing that so I do miss spelling errors and such from time to time. Also, if you just want to discuss something, drop your question/idea/concern/thought in a review and I will try and answer it. I will also try, starting next chapter, to answer your questions before the story each chapter.

Thanks.

* * *

May 8th, 2012

Richard Castle's Loft- New York

Beckett held Castle close, rubbing soothing circles along the small of his back. His sobs had subsided and he had managed to get his breath under control. Beckett herself could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She should have hated the woman. Janet van Dyne had a connection with Castle Beckett would never be able to claim. Even if they were to get married one day and start a family of their own, Janet would always be his first love, the one lost by a cruel trick of fate. She was a ghost that Beckett would have to battle each day and find herself competing against in all aspects of this relationship. It was different than with Gina or Meredith; with them, Beckett knew that things had not worked out well and when the time came she would be found favorable. But Janet…Janet and Castle ('Hank…his name is Hank') had loved each other and would still be together if it weren't for that madman.

That was a bitter pill to swallow and she chose not to think about what her life would have been like if Castle had remained Hank Pym.

But seeing Castle like this…Beckett couldn't find the strength to hate the woman. His love for her was so pure and honest that it would take only the coldest of hearts to hate it.

'Besides,' Beckett thought to herself, holding Castle just a bit tighter, 'she had Hank Pym. I have Richard Castle…and that is something she never had.'

Castle let out one final breath before turning to look at Beckett, his nose inches from hers. "You're wet."

Beckett blinked, her brain struggling before she finally gave in and began to laugh. It was cleansing and made her soul feel all the more lighter.

Castle, for his part, also chuckled. "Not like that."

"Not since last night," Beckett said with a smirk. She laid her head upon his shoulder, keeping her arms wrapped around his strong chest and back. "I'm sorry Rick."

"Thank you Kate." Castle sighed, rubbing his hands along his face. "Listen…would you mind if we took a walk or something? I really need to get some fresh air."

"Sure, no problem." Beckett untangled herself from him, stretching her arms up and giving Castle an eyeful as the borrowed tank top she wore inched up her belly. "I don't suppose my clothes are dry?"

"No, but I think Alexis might have something for you to wear."

Beckett scrunched up her nose. "Not too thrilled with raiding your daughter's closet."

"Either that or you go naked, and as much as I might enjoy that…" Castle wiggled her eyebrows and Beckett slapped his shoulder. "Take your time…I need to clean up after Fury's breakfast and then I need to grab my suit."

Beckett frowned. "Suit? You remember that we don't have to get dressed up today…no cases to case or anything like that." She paused, marveling at the fact that her lack of a job had somehow become less important in the face of Castle's revelation. 'Huh…maybe this will be easier to get use to than I thought.'

"Not that kind of suit. I promised to give you a demonstration of my powers and I will, I just need my suit to do it."

Beckett shrugged, deciding not to question him on it. These last two days had been weird enough as it was without trying to wrap her brain around the idea of Castle having superpowers. Better to just be quiet, go with the flow, and raid Alexis' closet for something decent to wear.

~MC~MC~MC~

Javier Esposito's Apartment

Esposito sat in his apartment, wondering just what had happened to all his beer. One minute it had been there, then POOF, nada. Just a bunch of empty bottles lying about.

He also wondered why the room was spinning so much.

As he stared at the walls he couldn't help but wonder how it had gone so wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen to him...he was Javier Esposito, damn it! One of the best homicide detectives in New York. He'd faced down torturers and madmen, he'd been shot at and nearly drowned, and still he was here, fighting the good fight.

Who the hell did Gates think she was, kicking him to the curb? He'd gone out there, risked his life against a madman who had shot at his friend and his reward for his troubles was suspension? Sure, the guy had taken him out rather quickly, but that was only because he hadn't been expecting it. Meet him in a fair fight and Javi would show that chucklehead exactly who was boss.

But Gates, that bitch...she only saw things in black and white. They had dared to not keep her in the loop and her petty ego had caused her to lash out. Esposito glanced at the phone, half expecting it to ring. He knew at any moment Gates would realize that she had just lost her two best detectives and now New York belonged to the scum and the gutter crawlers. It made all this almost worth it; he could hear her now, a slight tremble in her voice as she pleaded with him to come back and fix her mess. Oh, he would enjoy letting her beg, dangling from the edge before he politely accepted. He'd have demands, of course...a big fat raise for one...

...and a new partner for another.

Esposito's booze-enduced rage flared up as he thought about Kevin Ryan. 'Lousy Irish prick...' he thought to himself in disgust. Ryan had been hanging onto his coattails ever since Beckett had done him the favor of picking him up like a stray puppy and letting him learn from them. Esposito shook his head in disgust, which only caused the migraine that was forming behind his temples throb even worse. Ryan had betrayed them to Gates. It made Esposito feel like vomiting (which had nothing to do with all the booze he'd consumed on an empty stomach). The bond between partners was sacred and he'd thrown it away to go play altar boy to Gates' priest. 'Probably bent over and took it up the butt like the good Irish Catholic boy he is.'

The booze's wonderful dulling of his senses was fading, leaving him only with frustration and anger. He didn't for a moment think about how this was so wrong for him...he wasn't a racist and he wasn't a bigot. He didn't think these things! And yet, as he raised his last bottle to his lips and took a swig, the dark, disturbing thoughts tumbled from his brain stem without censor.

'Beckett...what the hell were you thinking?' At first he had been thrilled to hear Beckett say those magical words, making Gates' oh-so-polished exterior crack. He'd have never done it, of course, but let Beckett go running off...she could always go to Castle and do a bit of flirting to get some cash to live on. She was good at that...he'd seen her do it to enough men ('not you though' a traitorous little voice said, just a bit louder than the one screaming about how he shouldn't even think about his friends like he was).

But then, as he had been taking the subway back home it had hit him how utterly selfish Beckett was being. He'd risked it all on this case, tangling with an insane murderer...he'd been suspended...he'd lost his best friend...and she was just giving up? The nerve of that woman! He'd went along with this, breaking the rules and jeopardizing his career, because it was personal for her. 'Ha...obviously not personal enough!' he thought bitterly. If it had been his mami that had been killed he damn sure wouldn't have given up like she did. And he wouldn't have gotten tossed off a roof, either!

Esposito closed his eyes, his dark thoughts making his body feel like he had the flu. He needed to do something, get his mind off of his problems before they consumed him. Grabbing the remove, he began to flick through the channels.

'-and that is why America is doomed and you should by my book!'

'-ever guesses the price of the showcase-'

'-tnesses say Mr. Allen was last seen wearing the pope's hat while leaving a Dairy Queen before disappearing a flash of li-'

'-the Stark Tower opens, it will provide-'

Esposito fumed. If there was anything he hated more at the moment that his traitorous partners, it was Tony Friggin' Stark. He'd been watching all the developments on the weapons manufacturer, gritting his teeth as the world lauded him a hero for running around in iron underwear blowing up tanks.

It was just like he had told Ryan back when they had been dealing with what appeared to be their own superhero (who'd turned out to be another cop which made it kinda ok but still...), 'People should leave police work to us!'.

Stark was running around with his million watt smile, making people bow to him while the real heroes like the police and the soldiers (which Javi was both) went unsung for their efforts. It made him so frustrated he wanted to punch a wall.

Esposito picked up his phone and typed 'tony stark in ny, want to go to nj till a-hole leaves?'. His finger hovered over the send button as he realized who's number he'd almost sent the text to.

Kevin...Ryan.

Esposito threw his phone at the wall, not bothering to watch it shatter or dent the drywall. Instead, he merely looked up at the ceiling again and tried to gather the strength to go on another beer run.

~MC~MC~MC~

SHIELD HELICARRIER: LOCATION CLASSIFIED

There were several things SHIELD Director Nick Fury wanted to do as he got back to the helicarrier. Get a bite to eat, check in to see if they had located Loki yet, see where they were in recruiting the Avengers (not necessarily in that order). There many things he'd like to do, if given a moment, such as take a moment to breathe after being flung across the globe and maybe actually have a chance to sleep (something he hadn't done in…31 hours…)

"Sir…"

Dealing with Maria Hill was far, far down the list, just below having his eye ripped out…again.

"Hill, can this wait a few minutes? I just flew from New York and back after getting shot at by my own men."

Agent Hill followed after Fury, ignoring his pleas for space. "Sir, I couldn't help but notice that Dr. Pym wasn't with you. Is he coming on another Quinjet?"

"_Mr. Castle_ will not be joining us at this time."

"Then you've reconsidered bringing him into the Avenger Initiative?" Fury couldn't help but notice the slight pleasant tone Hill's voice gained upon speaking those words. She had been one of the few to argue about Fury's selecting the scientist-turned-writer for the team. He'd, of course, ignored her.

"No, I have not. I still feel that Richard Castle is an important part of this team and we will be all the stronger with him working with us."

Hill's face puckered, like she had bit into a bad lemon. "Sir, with all due respect, I fail to see why having that…deserter…on the team will do anything to help find the Tesseract.'

Fury shook his head, stopping at a door and keying in the unlock command. "We've been over this, Hill. From what little we've managed to gather about Loki he likes to taunt and trick his adversaries. He compared us to ants facing a boot-"

"And you took that to mean that we need Ant-Man?"

Fury had to force back the slight smile that wanted to form on his lips. 'Ant-Man' had been a nickname Pym had gotten back in the early days, after one of the agents had walked in on him while he was barely half an inch tall. Pym, for his part, hated the nickname and Fury was sure that even now, all the way back in New York, he was gritting his teeth without knowing why.

"Yes, Hill. But I also know that Hank Pym was one of the best scientists I have ever met and with him on board we will have a better understanding as to what Loki plans to do with the cube." The door slid open and Fury entered his quarters. Hill made to follow him, but a glare directed her way stopped her short and she retreated to just beyond the doorway. "Is there anything else, Hill?"

"If Ant…if Dr Pym or Mr. Castle or whatever he is called is so important to the mission, why is he not here?"

"He said no," Fury stated.

"No?"

"Well, he actually told me to get the hell out of his apartment, which makes sense since he had just gotten done making love to the woman's he's been pining for these last 4 years."

"How could you not bring him in? If he is as important as you say, you should have brought him in kicking and screaming!" Hill, seeing the look on Fury's face, checked her anger. "Sir."

Fury nodded, removing his coat and hanging it on a chair. "You really think I'd be able to drag a man that can shrink down to the size of a pin head or grow to the size of a this carrier?"

Hill crossed her arms over her chest. "You should have brought him in."

"And how would you have done it, Hill?" Fury asked, wishing he weren't on the job so he could get a drink.

"If he wouldn't have agreed to come? I'd have arrested his little girlfriend and told him that she would be released once he came with me."

Fury laughed. It was a barking sound that made Hill actually tremble. "Richard Castle blames us for the death of his first wife. He nearly killed Franklin Hall, and destroyed most of the Jersey Research Base doing it. And that is ignoring the fact that his 'girlfriend' is a NYPD detective trained is several forms of fighting..." He shook his head. He wanted to throw in a dig about them considering Det. Beckett for SHIELD membership, but knew that Hill would just go check the files and then come back when she found out it was a lie. "No Hill…if we went after him like that we'd only end up with more problems. Better to play the long game on this one."

"Sir…"

"Hill…that will be all."

"…yes sir."

Fury sighed as the door shut, leaving him alone with his thoughts. One of which, he wasn't proud to admit, was the wish that Loki had taken Maria Hill and left him Clint Barton.


	4. Chapter 4

Dinomus- Kevin Allen is my version of the Stan Lee cameo every Marvel movie has. A while back, I did a story called 'The Authors in the Crossover', a Castle and Bones fic, that featured a fan fic writer as a suspect. I gave the character my name, Kevin Allen, as an in-joke. A running bit known to some of my readers is that fictional Kevin Allen (who doesn't even act like me anymore and if he had a different name would literally be a character I created) stole the Pope's Hat.

Unattributedwriter- Thank you. While I am not a big Marvel fan (I am a DC junkie...I don't even own a Marvel trade, though I have thought about getting Spider-Girl to see what the hype is about) I do tend to research the characters to make sure I am getting things right. Also, as this story goes on and if there is demand for sequels, I will begin to move away from the movie-verse and craft a blending of it and the comics and the tv shows.

D-Didou-D- Franklin Hall is a scientist who becomes the villain Graviton, master of Gravity. I wanted to make Janet's death be senseless...she dies only because Hall chose to go through their apartment. Should there be demand for sequels, he will appear again. Plus, he looks like Alan Moore, and it is funny to see Alan Moore freaking out and beating up superheroes

Someguyshere and Darkly dreaming- One of things I am trying to do is flesh out characters that didn't get alot of time in THE AVENGERS, like the slag known as Maria Hill

* * *

1995

"Come on baby, please stop crying."

It had been a long few days and Richard Castle ('Not Hank Pym...I am Richard Castle.') rocked his baby girl who was, at that moment, apparently trying to deafen all of New York. He had been hoping for a bit of rest, but Alexis had seen to it that such hopes were pipedreams.

The entire day was a blur for him. Castle ('I was born in New York...my name is Richard Castle') had been dragged away from the body of his wife, unable to even function or understand what was going on around him. The next thing he remembered was sitting in Fury's office, the cyclops staring so hard with his one good eye he'd been sure it would pop out.

He'd told Fury he was done. He'd given the man years of his life and in the end Fury had failed to live up to his word. He had promised Castle ('I am not a scientist...I am a writer...I am not Hank Pym...') that he would protect his family and he'd failed to do that. Castle would not risk his daughter's life...he couldn't do that. So he was done, end of story.

Fury had threatened and battered and done everything short of begging but Castle had stood his ground. He would not work for the government anymore...he would never do another experiment again. Fury had pointed out that there were people out there that would love to get their hands on one of Fury's men, now out in the wind. Castle had told him that the government made people disappear all the time...they would just need to do the same with him.

Once he'd gotten Fury moving the wheels of change had moved at a lightning pace. In the time it took him to change Alexis' diaper he'd been given an entirely new life. He was Richard Castle. He was a writer ('Hank loved to make up stories for Janet...but I'm not Hank, am I?') raising his daughter Alexis Castle.

That had been his one stipulation: Alexis would keep her name. He knew it would have been smarter to change it, but every time he looked down at her with her chubby cheeks and gummy smile all he could think about was Janet spending weeks going through books to find the perfect name. He couldn't dishonor her memory by renaming their child.

He'd been flown to New York after that, given all the right cards and accounts (including a fat bank account and a posh New York City apartment as compensation for his loss...like any of that could replace his wife) and introduced to Agent Martha Rogers. Agent Rogers was one of Fury's deep cover people; to the world she was a famous actress, well known for being eccentric. In reality she was a skilled leader and agent who watched over New York and reported back to Fury about everything. It had been easy for the agency to set Castle up as her prodigal son, returned to the nest with a new baby. Agent Rogers was to keep an eye on him and protect him should his cover be blown.

Castle hated the woman so much...

Alexis let out another wail and he tried shifting her about, hoping that maybe he would find the magical position that would get her to stop crying and go instantly to sleep and never cry again and life would be perfect and-

"Hey!" Castle's eyes widened as Alexis wrapped her little lips around the nipple of the baby bottle and began to suckle, her mewling cries subsiding as she focused on filling her belly. "Yeah, that's it…drink up! Got to get that tummy full!" He began to gently sway, Alexis' eyes drifting shut as her world was reduced to the mere contents of a bottle.

Castle moved towards the windows, watching the lights of New York. It was so different here…at the base you could only get darkness by sealing yourself in your room. There were no windows and the halls and labs were lit 24/7. Here, he could stare out at the moon and see the rising sun and actually feel like a real person and not a rat in a cage.

Alexis' little fingers curling around the blanket she was swaddled in, still greedily sucking on her bottle. Castle gently ran his fingers along her silken hair, murmuring to her.

"Knew you would like that milk, princess. I told mommy that and…"

Castle felt his world spin as everything that had happened suddenly came crashing down upon him.

The baby slowed her nursing of the bottle, paying no heed to the tears that rained down on her from her daddy's eyes.

~MC~MC~MC~

Central Park, Present Day

"So wait…" Beckett said, dipping her spoon into the cup of ice cream Castle had bought for her from a nearby vendor, "I want to make sure I have this right: Alexis is, in fact, your daughter."

"Yes."

"But not Meredith's daughter."

"I wasn't even married to Meredith."

Beckett scratched her head. "Ok, and Martha is…"

"A SHIELD agent in deep cover in New York. Fury has one in all major international cities. Washington DC, New York, London, Beijing, Flint…"

"Flint, MI?"

Castle shrugged. "Hey, the Russians are the ones that still have their nukes pointed at it, so don't look at me." He sucked on his spoon, thanking God for inventing caramel. "My mother…Agent Rogers…was assigned to watch over Alexis and me. Fury was worried that we could get attacked by rogue countries who wanted my technical expertise to create bombs. She took on the role of my mother."

"That must have been weird." Beckett took another bit, knowing that the ice cream was marching straight towards her thighs but not caring in the slightest because, hey, she was unemployed and had a man so she was set.

Castle laughed. It was good to hear him laugh again…Beckett had missed that. He had been so solemn this year, so moody; she hadn't realized how much she missed his laughter and his humor until it suddenly appeared again.

Of course, they all had been through a rough year. The death of Montgomery, the sniper, the sexual tension between them… but Beckett had put the first two behind her and had plans for tonight that would continue to drain any sexual tension right away. She glanced down at her ice cream, suddenly inspired and wondering if there was any way that she could convince Castle to stop off at a market before returning to the apartment.

Beckett was thinking over the pros and cons of sprinkles when she realized Castle was looking at her. "Uh…I kinda got sidetracked. Can you repeat that?"

"My mother and I didn't…get along at first. It was really confusing…in public she would be like you have seen her, with all the 'darling' and 'oh Richard dear!'" Beckett giggled at Castle's rather fine impression of his mother…or secret agent pretending to be his mother… "But when we were alone, she was all business. She would be lecturing me about safety and proper procedures…kinda reminds me of Gates, now that I think about it." Castle gave a full body shudder at the thought. "It also didn't help having Alexis around."

"What do you mean?"

"My mother felt that it was important for her to look like a grandmother, doting on Alexis. I, on the other hand, just saw an agent trying to hold the last remaining piece of my wife and would flip out on her."

Beckett nodded. "You know, I wish I could say I understood, but truthfully I don't think anyone could. Your situation is…well…"

"Don't worry, I get it."

"So what changed things between the two of you? You obviously don't mind calling her mom…"

Castle scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…well, you've met Meredith…"

"Your ex-wife who wasn't really your ex-wife."

"Right. Seems one of Fury's flunkies thought Martha wasn't cutting it and decided to set me up with Meredith, who is another SHIELD Agent, by the way."

"Is there anyone who isn't a SHIELD Agent?"

"Honestly, I thought you were one when we first met." Castle cut Beckett off before she could ask his reasoning on that. "Meredith breezed in and informed us that she was playing my wife and Alexis' mother…"

"I'm sure that went over well."

"…in front of Alexis."

"Oooo."

"Yeah. Needless to say, the day ended with Alexis in tears about 'disappearing mommy' and Martha and I screaming at Meredith till she went trotting back to Fury. I really should thank her, though…that got mother and I much closer."

"How do you see her now?" Beckett threw her cup in the trash and continued to lead Castle deeper into the park.

"Pretty darn close. It's easy to forget nowadays we aren't really mother and son." Castle looked about, deciding that this part of the park was pretty well deserted (a blessing in and of itself). "Ok, so do you have any more questions or do you want to see me in action."

Beckett grinned, settling herself on a park bench. "Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world. I want to see what faces you make before you admit the whole growing/shrinking thing is a giant lie."

"No pun intended," Castle muttered. "Ok, so we are going to start with shrinking." Reaching behind his head, Castle pulled out a red piece of cloth and yanked it over his head. He reached towards his belly and touched a small metallic device and Beckett's eyes widened at the sight of the material sealing around Castle's face, leaving only his mouth exposed. His eyes were covered by a reflective silver surface and two long strips extended up from his forehead.

"What is that?"Beckett asked.

"Oh, right…usually when I do this the people watching know about my gadgets. Alright, so there is such a thing called unstable molecules. They were invented by a Dr. Richards. You see, molecules normally can only take one form and, if you alter the form, it takes great force to return them to their original shape, and even then it might not be possible. Unstable molecules are able to be…well, it's complicated, but I can program them to change shape, size and even structure. It allows my suit to grow or shrink with me. I can also make it very light, so it feels like I am not even wearing it, or incredibly dense, to the point that it is bullet-proof. I can even change my hood into a helmet and breathing device to allow me to shrink almost anywhere."

"And…the bug antennas?" Beckett asked, pointing to two small thin 'thorns'.

"Communication device." Castle tossed Beckett his phone. "I have it already dialed up…alright…one for the money, two for the show…"

The next thing Beckett knew, Castle's clothing was falling to the ground and he had completely disappeared. Her eyes almost shot out of their sockets as she looked about, expecting him to jump out from a tree and reveal this was all a trick.

"Castle?"

"Down here!" Castle called out over his phone. "Come closer but be careful…don't want you to squish me!"

"uh…ok," Beckett said nervously, getting on her hands and knees and crawling towards the pile of clothing that sat on the grass. She prayed no one walked by at that time, as she knew it would only result in her being sent off to the funny farm. "Castle?"

"Here I am!" Castle said, emerging from the clothing. Beckett stared at her inch long partner, who was standing happily on his shoe with his hands on his hips. "What do you think?"

"You…you…you actually shrank!"

"I told you I would!"

"I didn't believe you!" Beckett screeched."I thought this was all one of your…you know, one of your pranks."

"Nope. But if we are being honest, I have shrunk down a few times to sneak peeks at what you keep in that locked drawer in your desk. Why do you own so many Pokemon magazines anyway?"

"You did what?"

"Uh…and now, for my next trick, you'll need to step back…"

Beckett, ready to pester Castle more about what he had been doing in her special drawer, quickly began to back away as mini-Castle began to swell up, rising higher and higher in the air. Castle stepped away from his clothing, his head reaching to just the very top of the nearest tree before he stopped his growth. Beckett looked up…and up…at Castle's towering form, her jaw hanging loose at the sight of him standing nearly 20 feet tall.

"Well, what do you think?" Castle whispered, his voice still loud enough to make it feel like he was nearly shouting.

"I…I…" Beckett stammered.

"And this isn't even that big," Castle said with a smirk. "Originally I could only go to 50 feet before suffering ill effects, but due to my body becoming use to the Pym Particles I've managed to get to…hmm, I want to say 500 feet."

"Castle, this is…wow…" Beckett fanned herself. "This is giving me all sorts of ideas for tonight."

Castle smirked at that. "Oh, I'm sure I know plenty of things we could try out."

Beckett blushed. "I forgot that both you and your wife could do this." She took a step closer to him, placing her hand on his calf, as if trying to assure herself this was real. "Can Alexis do this too?"

"No. She doesn't even know about this," Castle admitted. "I so rarely use these powers nowadays…it just isn't a-"

"DAD?"

Castle closed his eyes. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"


	5. Chapter 5

someguyshere- I don't know if I'll be doing an M rated story for Beckett's ideas...I have more fun writing character interaction than sex scenes

Fayneir and Liberty Girl- thank you

Cylon- I debated just how much Castle has told his daughter and decided that, other than some basic things, this is a secret he kept from her...not for her own good, but for his

Dinomus- Castle will join up with the Avengers in a much different way than the rest of them, and his interactions with them will be very interesting. I like the idea that all the characters have different opinions of each other (for example, Stark likes Banner, has a back and forth with Cap, knows Widow to the point that she is almost a friend and rarely interacts with Thor and Hawkeye to this point). How the Castle cast interacts with them will also be interesting, with some surprises (especially if there is enough clamor for the sequel)

Rogueleader and Darkly Dreaming- I so badly wanted to do the Futurama joke "No, I'm in front of you" but couldn't figure out how to make it work

Unattributedwriter- Alot of my research was watching the Avengers cartoon and doing some wiki research. The Hank Pym (before he became Castle) persona is based on his cartoon counterpart, as I can't imagine Castle ever hitting his wife. Cap is a touch more like his comics, leadershipwise, and so is Hawkeye (who i felt they made a bit too bland, so I make him a little more snarky). Widow is true to her movie Counterpart, Stark is Stark, Hulk is a mix of the movie, the show, the comics and how I personally feel he should be, and Thor is himself, but more from his own movie than The Avengers (ie, he is a bit more playful here in my story). Of course, I also have played with the Castle cast...Castle I've given a bit more of a spine and Beckett a touch more humor.

Two quick notes: For those readers concerned that my track record of not finishing stories as of late will affect this story can breath a sigh of relief: I am writing the final chapters now, so this story will 100% be completed, at which point I will either begin working on the sequel, Fallout, or one of my CASTLE story ideas from 'Beckett and Castle Amok' (I am thinking doing the story where Beckett and Castle are secretly married and showing how the show would change because of that)

Second, I know this is about castle, but am I the only one swearing off Bones because of the stupid season finale?

* * *

New York, Spring 2009

"I can't wait to read _Storm Fall_! Derek Storm is, like, my favorite character ever!"

Castle smiled, scribbling a quick autograph on the inside cover of the gushing fan's copy of his latest novel. "Well then, that makes you my favorite fan."

The girl giggled, hurrying away while Castle turned to the next fan.

"Mr. Castle…I just LOOOOVVEEEE your work." The clearly drunk woman pulled down her dress slightly, jutting her breasts out for Castle to sign.

"And believe me, I love your work too."

"Thanks…wait, what?" The woman blinked, trying to wrap her mind around the thinly-veiled insult, but Castle was already making is way through the crowd, shaking hands and accepting thank yous.

No matter how boring a character might get, no matter how played out a story might become, no matter how much heartache or migraines he might get…nothing would ever make a night like this nothing short but legen...wait for it...dary. The fans gushing over his work, the celebrities for once hanging on his every word instead of the other way around…and the fact that this was one of the few times he actually saw his ex in a good mood.

Yes, life was pretty good for Richard Castle. He had a wonderful daughter, a loving mother, more money than a money tree after a bumper crop and the eyes of the world upon him. It was enough to make him want to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Castle grinned and turned with pen ready, wondering just what type of woman would be asking for his autograph…and where.

"Mr. Castle?"

'Ok, so not a woman, but a rather bland looking white man in a suit.' Castle shrugged; life couldn't always be blondes with perky boobs asking for him to cop a feel. "What can I do for you?" Castle asked politely.

"I was wondering if you could sign my book." The man passed the copy of _Storm Fall _over to him. The man tapped the cover as Castle took out his pen. "Could you make it out to my friend? A Mr. Pym?"

Castle's eyes widened before narrowed them to near slits. "You know, I think I could stand to use some less-than-fresh air." He stomped towards the main building, the man close behind, wondering if he couldn't just find a nice closet to stick the nosey-nose in and get back to the party. Failing to find one, however, Castle ducked into an empty room, shutting the door and locking it before he turned and jabbed the man with his finger. "Who the hell are you?"

"Relax, Dr. Pym. Agent Rogers has already been informed that I wished to speak with you."

"My name is Richard Castle and that doesn't answer who the hell you are."

"Agent Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. And I am a big fan of your books, so I do hope you will sign the cover."

"Agent Coulson," Castle said with a smile, holding up his hand. "I don't know why Fury sent you to visit me, but did he tell you what I said the last time he surprised me with a visit?" Coulson shook his head. "I informed him that the next agent he sent to bother me would get my hand shoved down his throat…and then I would grow to 15 feet."

Coulson, for his part, didn't gulp. "Dr. Pym-"

"Mr…Castle. Dr. Pym doesn't exist anymore."

"We both know that isn't true." Coulson considered his words. "Granted, I can understand why you would prefer this life…there are a lot more half-naked women here than where I work."

"Coulson, I'm losing my patience and the ladies are losing their buzz, so if we could wrap this up, that would be super."

"Director Fury sent me to discuss with you your future."

"I know my future: I am going to write more books that make me a ton of money, use said money to buy a lot of cool toys, annoy my mother-"

"Agent Rogers, and about that-"

"Spend time with my daughter and sleep with as many beautiful women as I can. Not in that order, mind you, and some may be repeated. Now, normally I would have lots of time to do that, but since I'm talking to you my time is running out so if you don't mind I will just be on my way…"

"Is that how you want to spend the rest of your life? Churning out mystery novels that have bad pun titles and sleeping around?"

Castle frowned. "What makes my titles bad?"

Coulson kept his carefully perfected neutral facade intact. "You are a scientist, Dr. Pym. You were doing amazing work; work that was changing the world for the better. Your experiments were unlocking secrets about the world. That is why we recruited you in the first place."

"That was a long time ago, Agent Coulson…I am not that man anymore."

"But you could be." Coulson stepped around Castle, blocking his way out of the room. "Director Fury let you leave because he understood the pain you were suffering from. He still does…we all do. You also did it to protect your daughter…a very noble gesture. But Alexis will be 18 soon. She will be going off to college and will be able to protect herself. What will you do then? Sit around your apartment and continue to pretend Agent Rogers sees you as something more than a babysitting job? Or will you use your intellect to help us protect this world and make it better and brighter?" Coulson could tell he had hit a nerve from the way Castle was chewing over his words. "You've mourned for your wife for 15 years; don't you think she would want you to move on and continue the work you two did? And if you are still worried about Alexis arrangements can be made. Truth be told, there are some of us who have wanted to recruit her-"

Castle slammed Coulson against the wall, his hand firmly wrapped around Coulson's throat as his clothing strained to hold in his growing form. He brought his face in close, eyes ablaze with rage and breath coming out hot and hard. Coulson, for his part, remained calm.

"You want to know why I left, Coulson? It wasn't because I needed to mourn or because I was protecting my daughter. I left because you and Fury and all the rest of your damn organization created the monster that killed my wife. And even that I could have swallowed if I had seen an inch of true compassion in any of you. But no…all I saw from Fury was the frustration that Franklin Hall's experiment had been a bust and the base had been wrecked. My wife DIED and he cared about objects."

Castle threw Coulson to the ground and returned to his normal height. "You tell Fury that if I ever find out he or any of you talked to my daughter…you'll find out just how big and strong I can get." Castle stalked out of the room, returning after a moment. He reached down, grabbed Coulson's book, and quickly signed his name before storming out, though with less dramatic flair than the first time.

"Darling, whatever are you doing…" Martha asked Alexis at the bar.

Castle smiled. His two favorite ladies were here…and they always managed to brighten his day.

Coulson picked himself up and brushed off his suit and collecting the book. Taking out his phone, he hit speed dial and waited for the connect. "Director Fury, he said no."

"I figured as much. But we needed to explore that route."

"Do you want me to contact Agent Rogers? Maybe she can-"

"No…Agent Rogers has made it clear that Dr. Pym still needs time. I just wanted to confirm that for myself. Come back in, I have some other matters I need you to attend."

Coulson shut his phone and made his way towards the exit just as a beautiful brunette with a pixie cut walked in flashing her badge.

"I'm looking for Richard Castle," Detective Kate Beckett said.

"He's over by the bar," Coulson said, watching Beckett march over and handcuff the writer.

~MC~MC~MC~

Central Park, New York City- Present Day

There were things you didn't want your 18 year old daughter to see.

1-You using your shaving cream to give yourself a ZZ Top beard and singing along to the radio.

2-You having sex

3-You growing to 20 feet in a dark red protective suit with silver lines running along it to help keep the unstable molecules together.

Castle quickly covered himself like he was a Hollywood starlet, nearly crushing a bench under his foot as he backed away from his shell-shocked daughter and annoyed mother. Beckett, for her part, was torn between laughing and…well, laughing.

"Dad? Wha…how…wha…"

"Uh…this is a dreeeeaaaammmm!" Castle quickly shrunk back down, waving his arms about. "Yes…a dreaaaaammmm!"

Alexis stared at him. "So…if I wake up now, I'll be in my bed?"

"…no. You slept walked."

"Uh huh."

"I…uh…Inceptioned you."

"Dad…not buying it."

Castle rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you believe me if I said one of your friends got you high and this is a bad trip?" When Alexis merely glowered at him Castle sighed and proceed to put his street clothes back on. "Right, I forgot how smart you are."

"And you forget how smart you are too, Richard," Martha stated. She glanced over at Beckett, an eyebrow raised. "I am assuming this means he let you in on his past?"

Beckett nodded. "Yes, Agent Rogers." That got a nice little reaction from Martha.

"Dad…how did you do that?" Alexis asked, circling him like he was some sort of prize bull she'd been asked to judge at the county fair. She reached out, touching the thin, spandex-like material he wore under his clothing and was startled to find just how strong and durable it was. "And what the heck are you wearing?"

Castle looked to Martha. "No no no, darling, this is yours to answer."

Beckett also stepped away. "She's your daughter."

Castle let out a sigh. "Alexis…you know how I told you about your mother?"

"How you two worked together?" Castle nodded. "Wait…this is what you worked on? I thought you guys wrote a book together or something!"

"No," Castle admitted, sitting down so he could pull his shoes on. One of the nice things about the unstable molecule suit was that when he didn't need it he could command it to become skin tight and razor thin, allowing him to put on his clothing with ease. It actually felt like wearing comfy long underwear…and Castle wasn't about to admit that he had thrown it on during the winter months purely to keep warm. Somehow he had the feeling SHIELD wouldn't like him using high-tech survival gear to keep toasting during Christmas shopping.

"Wait..so you and…mom…you did…that?"

Beckett frowned. "You never told her?"

"We told her enough," Martha said.

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "You clearly didn't tell me everything!" She shook her head, pacing. "I thought my mother was another writer who died when your apartment collapsed. Now you are telling me you guys were, what, mad scientists?"

"No, honey…"

"Well, you were a bit mad, Richard."

"Not now, mother."

"Why did you tell her that?" Beckett asked. After all the secrets and mysteries surrounding her own mother's death Beckett couldn't help but feel for the young woman whose life was being twisted right in front of her.

Alexis continued to pace, but the anger she had felt moments ago drifted off. "He didn't tell me that…I've pieced it together…you never talk about my mother…why?"

Castle lowered his head, suddenly feeling all the years of his life weighing down on him. "I loved her so much. And when you love a person that deeply, their passing leaves a hole that is nearly impossible to fill." He looked at Beckett, his eyes silently pleading with her to understand that while the hole was there, that didn't mean he was incapable of love. "I kept telling myself that I was waiting till you were older, but I…was just using that as an excuse. You've been ready to hear the truth for a long time…I was the one that wasn't ready." Castle looked up, eyes shining with tears but a smile on his face. "Lets go home…its time I told you about your mother…and about me."

Alexis nodded, questions still swirling in her mind. But she stomped them down, willing to give her father another chance to tell her the truth. Still, one thing bothered her.

"Detective Beckett…why are you here…and why are you wearing my clothes?"

"Uh…"

Castle smirked. "Oh no, that was is ALLLLLL you."


	6. Chapter 6

Darkly- I like the idea that Coulson interacted with all the Avengers (except the Hulk...that is a pity) so I knew he needed to run into Beckett and Castle

Dinomus- Actually, there is some debate if Martha's name is spelled Rogers or Rodgers. I've seen in both ways. But no, she isn't related to Steve.

RogueLeader- The next chapter is right here!

Please remember to review...they motivate me to post chapters!

* * *

Flushing Meadows- April 2010

Beckett looked about all the displays and gaudy lights and booths selling Iron Man souvenirs and wondered just how she had got herself roped into this. This was not her thing in the slightest. She'd rather be back at her apartment, reading a good book and having a soak in the tub than wandering around in Tim Taylor's wet dream. Half the stuff looked outlandish and silly and overpriced and the other half was simply too over her head to even understand (what the hell was a Life Model Decoy anyway?).

So…what had dragged Beckett out of her comfy shell and down to this place?

"Hey Beckett, check it out!" The detective leaned back as a certain writer darted out in front of her, a plastic Iron Man mask strapped to his face and two small lights (made to look like the hero's repulsors) on his palms. "Pew pew!"

'Oh, that's right…not a what, but a who,' Beckett thought.

Castle was bouncing around like Tigger after a sugar high. "Look, I got some for you too! And Alexis…hmmm, I wonder if I can wire these to work with our laser tag vests…oh, now that would be so cool!"

Beckett shook her head. "Castle, don't you think rewiring toys is a bit out of your league?"

"Uh…yeah, sure." Beckett missed the shifty look. "You know, I can't believe you didn't want to come here!" Castle thrust her bag of goodies he'd bought for her into her hands, looking at all the neon lights like a child in a toy store. "I mean, isn't this place just awesome!"

"Not quite the word I had in mind," Beckett stated. As much as she disliked the venue, Beckett did have to admit it was fun to watch Castle dance around like a drunken monkey or a child whose mommy was too busy to pay attention to him. Mainly because she knew he would do something stupid and that would get her a good laugh.

"Pew pew!" Castle exclaimed.

"Actually, the repulsors don't go pew. It is more of an electrical charging sound."

…like make a fool out of himself in front of Tony Stark.

Castle blinked, staring at the rich former-weapons manufacturer turned superhero. "Uh…but pew pew sounds cooler."

Tony gave a slight nod, having to agree with that. "Richard Castle. Glad to finally meet you. I know all about your work."

"You've read my novels?"

"God no. But my assistant has and she won't shut up about them." Tony turned to his chauffer, Happy. "Don't tell Pepper I said that."

"Of course."

Tony turned towards Beckett, giving her a good looking over. "Well, I can tell your boyfriend is enjoying himself, but what about you? Normally women are all smiles when I walk up to them."

"But I'm not on a street corner and you aren't paying me," Beckett stated.

"…I like her. I like her a lot." Tony swung to stand beside Beckett, leaving Castle fuming. He tried to follow them, only to find Happy blocking his path. "So, what do you think of my expo?"

"Is it an accurate scale model of your ego or is it lifesize?"

"Accurate. About 1/5th scale."

"I would have said 1/10th," Beckett quipped.

"She is a spitfire. Can you tell she is a spitfire? Totally spitfire."

"Please stop saying spitfire," Beckett muttered.

Castle moved to intercept Stark (who he was liking less and less with each passing moment), when he felt someone grab a hold of his arm. Swinging around, he was startled to see an older man with a thinning hair and a slight belly staring at him in shock. Next to him was a gorgeous brunette with large bright eyes dressed in ruffled, rumpled clothing.

"Hank? Is that really you?"

Castle was ready to question how this man knew his real name when his eyes widened a bit. "Erik?" All thoughts of denying who he was vanished as he wrapped his arms around his old friend. "What are you doing here!"

"Come to see the expo, of course. Jane is presenting a program she developed." Erik Selvig said.

Jane held out her hand. "Dr. Jane Foster. Nice to meet you, Mr..."

"Doctor, Jane, doctor. Dr. Hank Pym. One of the brightest minds I've ever known. I met him in college, back when he was the young genius tearing up the town." Selvig shook his head. "Hank Pym…what the heck have you been up to? You vanished off the face of the Earth!"

Castle smiled weakly. "I'm guessing you don't follow the literary circles that much."

"Huh?"

He shrugged. "I'm not a scientist anymore. I'm a writer…maybe you've read my books? Winter Storm? Brewing Storm…"

Jane's eyes widened. "You're Richard Castle?" She smiled, tugging on Selvig's arm. "This is the guy me and Darcy are always talking about! He wrote the Nikki Heat book!"

"That thing you two are always reading while I am driving us around in that motorhome?" Selvig looked at his friend. "You're a writer now?"

Castle shrugged. "You get a lot more money writing books than working in a lab."

Jane nodded in agreement. "Yeah…I think that jacket you have cost more than my car."

Selvig, however, was shocked by his friend's statement. "Hank…how could you just walk away from your work? You were breaking ground, discovering new truths about atoms and…"

Castle shook his head. It would be so easily to lie to Selvig, to tell him that he had gotten bored or that he had been fired or that he'd suffered a midlife crisis. But this man had been there for him when he was young and stupid, first starting out in the world of men while he was still a boy. He deserved better than some half-cooked story.

Besides…sometimes it got so tiring, lying to everyone. The only person that knew about the real him was his mother…Agent Rogers…and even then it was hard to share it with her because she was still one of THEM.

He looked over at Beckett, who was still trying to detangle herself from Stark, and sighed. It was easy to blame the walls she put up around her heart for their lack of a relationship but Castle was man enough to admit it was just as much his fault as it was hers. How could he enter into a true partnership with her when he couldn't even tell her his real name?

He'd come so close at times, the words on the tip of his tongue. But he'd lived too long with the lie…he just couldn't let it go. It was his security blanket, his armor against the arrows the world sent at him. His mind screamed that if she wasn't the one, if he told her and she turned out to be just another pretty face like Gina…he would have jeopardized his family for nothing.

He just couldn't bring himself to release the lie, not yet.

But here, with Selvig and Jane Foster…he could be offered a chance to dip his toe in the water and remove himself from the river in Egypt known as Denial.

'Great, I'm mixing my metaphors.'

Castle looked around, making sure there was no one listening before speaking. "Selvig…my wife died." There, he said it.

"Oh my God…" Jane placed a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry."

Castle nodded. "We worked together to discover and control the Pym Particle…she was killed…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word 'murdered'.

"Hank…" Selvig whispered, "I didn't know."

"No one does. We….we have a daughter. I couldn't…I couldn't risk her life. So I quit. Changed my name, my profession, everything. I just can't be Hank Pym, not anymore…not after Janet…"

Jane nodded. "We understand."

Selving sighed. "I am sorry to hear about that. The world lost a great scientist."

"It lost two," Castle murmured.

"I pray that one day you'll find it in your heart to try again. We could always use someone like you."

Castle smiled slightly. "I doubt it, but thanks."

They made pleasant goodbyes after that, promising to keep in touch but knowing they would not. Castle and Selvig simply lived different lives now and other than moments like this neither foresaw meeting each other again.

Beckett walked up to him, staring at her shirt in disgust. Clearly written across the belly was Tony Stark's signature…and phone number.

"I am never going to get this out in the wash, am I?" she grumbled. She glanced at the retreating forms of Jane and Selvig. "Who are those two?"

"Just someone I knew…in a past life." Castle looped his arm through Beckett's, leading her towards the exit. "Come on, I don't feel like paying 30 dollars for a burger. Let's head to that little diner, you know the one with the red booths, and grab a bite."

"…you know what, sure." Beckett let him lead on, smiling when Castle took the Iron Man mask off and threw it in the trash.

~MC~MC~MC~

Richard Castle's Loft, New York- May 8th, 2012

"I…I don't believe this." Alexis sat on the couch, her mind a whirl.

"I swear to you Alexis, I didn't want to keep this from you. I just…no…no, I am not going to give you an excuse. There is no excuse." Castle placed a hand on his daughter's knee, wishing she would look at him. "I'm so sorry, Alexis. I should have sat you down and explained all of this a long time ago…"

"Dad, I get it. I understand why you didn't tell me everything." Alexis looked him in the eye. "I just don't believe you were a scientist."

"What?"

"You can't even program the Tivo! How the hell did you figure out how to make people grow and shrink?" She patted his shoulder. "You can admit it was just mom who came up with it and you were her assistant…I won't think less of you."

Castle's eye twitched. "I did figure it out…and the Tivo is…really complex!"

"I do understand. I'm not happy about it, and it will take me a while to forgive you…but I understand."

"Watch, I'm going to program it right now!" Castle ignored her last statement. Instead, he walked away, flicking on the TV.

'_-and Abed in the Morning!'_

'_-remains missing, though authorities spotted Mr. Allen-'_

'_-overnment still refuses to answer what happened in Germany. The figure, described to be wearing Norse armor, forced people to bow to-'_

"Come on you stupid thing…" Castle grunted.

The women merely left Castle to fiddle with the machine, knowing it would only end badly. "Gram…" Alexis frowned, considering her words. "Is it weird that I call you Gram? I mean, I know we aren't related, but-"

Martha patted her hand. "Alexis, there is more to this world than blood." Alexis smiled at that.

'**RECORDING…JERSEY SHORE'**

Castle grimaced. "No…I want you to record Big Bang Theory, you stupid…"

Beckett smiled at the interaction between Martha and Alexis. "You know what I can't believe? That you are really some suave secret agent super spy, Martha."

Martha just laughed. "Oh, it's not like I go out into the field often."

'**DELETING HARDDRIVE'**

"No! Stop stop stop!" Castle shouted.

Martha stood up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing an apple. "I mostly just watch over things, ensure that New York is running how Fury wants it run…"

Before either woman could react Martha threw the apple up and produced two long knifes that had been hidden in her sleeves. She slashed them repeatedly in the air, cutting the apple into tiny chunks. Most fell into a bowl that was sitting on the table, but one she speared with her knife and sent flying into the wall, the blade an inch from Castle's nose.

"…ok, I'll leave the Tivo alone!"

'**ALL HAIL ULTRON'**

Castle blinked. "I have no idea what that means."


	7. Chapter 7

Dinomus- The rest of the precinct will be appearing very, very soon

mendenbar- thanks. I really wanted to take the elements Castle and Pym share and explore them, while ignoring the less than...likable aspects of Pym.

Rye- I think you mean Esposito

Zeo, Mogget, and mwjen- Thanks!

Darkly- Thanks...I just like the idea that Castle, while being super smart, is a dumby when it comes to certain things.

* * *

New York City- May 12th, 2012

It should have been an ordinary day.

Esposito, after waking up with a mouth that tasted like he'd gargled with someone else's vomit, and decided that he needed to get out of his apartment. He grabbed his gym bag and waded through the beer bottles that covered the carpet, wanting nothing more than to pound the bag and lift some weights. If he couldn't get drunk the least he could do was work off some of his frustrations the old fashion way: By beating something up.

He paused, grabbing the 8by10 of Kevin Ryan that sat on his desk and shoved it into his bag. Always helped to have something to aim his punches at.

Detective Kevin Ryan, for his part, was seated at his desk, going over his files. While he hadn't been busted by Gates for his role in Beckett's investigation, she had needed to do something to make sure her bosses didn't ask too many questions. So, he had been given desk duty, which was fine by him. He wasn't for sure he was ready to be partnered up just yet and going over old files would help him keep his mind off the people that he had called friends who now called him Judas.

Kate Beckett bit into her burger, ignoring the stares Alexis and Martha were giving her. One of the few things people didn't realize about her was her love of big drippy burgers. Oh, she would eat a salad at the precinct or enjoy a nice sandwich with soup if needed, but when she was truly relaxed there was nothing Beckett loved more than having a burger overflowing with toppings clenched between her fingers, the plate becoming soaked with a mix of ketchup and mayo as she tore into the meat like a wolf gobbling up a bunny.

This had been Alexis' idea. After they info dump they had put her through, Alexis had suddenly realized that Beckett and Castle were dating, which opened up a whole new world of questions. She'd wanted all the details, throwing out such crazy theories as Beckett and Castle already being married and having faked their 'partnership' all these years, to Beckett not being the real Beckett and infact being an alien who had taken over for the detective (clearly Alexis was her father's daughter).

After they had settled her down and explained what was going on Alexis had told them that she wanted the four of them to have lunch together, to help clear the air and get them involved in something normal. Beckett had agreed, knowing how important family was to Castle and wanting to make a good impression on his family (even if they already knew her).

Of course, when she'd arrived that morning Alexis had interrogated her like a skilled police officer, thrusting a light in Beckett's face and asking such questions as "do I have to call you stepmommy" and "have you ever had sex on my bed or do you merely steal my clothes?"

Once Beckett had answered those to the best of her ability Alexis had relented and the four of them had headed out…though Beckett still wondered if Alexis was planning to waterboard her.

Castle, for his part, was trying not to laugh up his fries. Martha was regaling them with stories about Nick Fury…stories Fury would NEVER want to be made public. Alexis, not even knowing the man, was giggling at the infamous director and his not-so-cool adventures.

"You are joking!" Castle exclaimed, his sides hurting.

"Hand to God."

"How the hell did you manage to sneak into his room?"

"Oh, I have my ways…" Martha said. "The best part was when he showed up to review the daily reports and everyone wanted to know why he was sporting a pink uniform."

Alexis snorted, nearly spitting up her milkshake.

Beckett was too concerned with her burger to care.

It should have been a normal day.

Then the blue energy had burst up from Stark Tower and lit up the sky.

Esposito had thought it was some Grand Opening thing and rolled his eyes, paying the taxi driver and walking towards the gym doors.

Alexis had been the first one to spot it, their food forgotten as they slowly stood up from their table and moved towards the window, watching as the sky seemed to catch on fire.

Ryan looked up as every phone in the precinct began to ring, all reporting…something.

It should have been a normal day.

Then the sky ripped open and hell descended upon them.

Beckett gripped Castle's hand as the aliens fell from the sky, firing upon the buildings and the people without abandon. Behind her she could hear people begin to scream and panic but not her. Years of being a detective had steeled her for even the worst of situations.

But this…was pretty damn close to rattling her.

"When Fury told you the world was ending…you think he was talking about this?" Beckett whispered.

Castle turned to his mother, who was already pulling out her phone. The Grand Dame of New York was gone and in her place was Special Agent Martha Rogers of SHIELD. "Are the tunnels still operational?"

Martha nodded, holding up a finger as she dialed a number she hadn't called since the Hulk's attack the year before. "This is Rogers. We have a Code Omega. I repeat, Code Omega." She hung up the phone, not needing to hear the confirmations. Her agents were well trained and would already be breaking cover and doing what they needed to do.

"What do we do?" Alexis asked, clinging to her father's arm.

"Stay with gram, ok?" Castle said. "Get them to the tunnels."

Martha nodded, pulling out a tube of lipstick, a compact and some other odds and ends. Before Beckett or Alexis had time to understand what she was doing Martha had reassembled the items into a wicked-looking gun. She turned and with cold eyes fired a single shot, the entire restaurant growing quiet.

"Everyone listen to me. We are all going to be ok. I need you to follow me and do not get separated." Martha began to lead everyone to the back, the crowd following her without question.

Alexis glanced back at her father, but was quickly swallowed up by the crowd, Martha forcing her to continue on. Castle let go of Beckett's hand and headed towards the front door. "The tunnels run under New York and are designed to survive nuclear blasts. They will get you to New Jersey and there should be transport waiting for you there."

"Castle, where are you going!" Beckett called out, grabbing his wrist. Castle looked to the sky, his face grim. Beckett reached towards his collar, her fingers finding what she had feared: he was wearing his suit. He'd made a comment about showing Alexis a few more tricks after lunch… "No…no, don't even think about it! You are a writer, a scientist…what can you possibly do?"

Castle smirked slightly. "Go big."

"Castle!"

"Kate…I love you." And with that he was racing down the street, dodging panicked people as he made his way towards the epicenter of the battle. Beckett lost sight of him as he dove into an alley, his dress shirt flung away to join the other debris that blew through the air.

Beckett stared, first at where Castle had gone, then to the great hellhole that was belching their death. "Detective, we need to go!" Martha called out from the back of the restaurant.

The ex-detective's face went as hard as stone. She gave Martha one final look before plunging out the door. She didn't follow Castle, however. Instead, she let her instincts guide her and every one of them was screaming at her to head towards the source of all of this: Stark Tower.

~MC~MC~MC~

Ryan stared at the madness above him in shook. None of his training, none of his experience, had prepared him for this.

His mind filled with thoughts of his wife.

Det. Kevin Ryan grit his teeth, grabbed his gun, and raised down the stairs.

He would not wait for the fight to come to him.

~MC~MC~MC~

The Hulk nodded to himself, turning back to the Avengers. The leviathan lay dead at his feet, taken down by one of his mighty punches. It felt different right now…so many times when Banner let him loose it was because of rage or fear. But this time the Hulk felt none of those things. He only felt the urge to fight…to win…to be the strongest.

It made him almost smile.

Thor looked about, his hammer ready. His brother had unleashed this upon the planet he now considered a second home, and by Odin's grace Thor would make his brother pay.

Stark checked his payload, sending commands to Jarvis to keep him updated for any changes. But as he watched two more of the leviathans emerge from the wormhole, he wondered if he would have been wiser to select his 'secret project' instead of the Mark VII.

Hawkeye and Black Widow readied their weapons. This wasn't what SHIELD had trained them to do. They were spies and assassins and agents. They weren't heroes that fought in the open. But the world now needed them and they would do what they must.

Captain America should have been shocked by all this. He should have been staring at this…impossible sight and left horror-struck. But a sense of calm filled him, the calm only a soldier knows after having faced down death so many times. This was just enough battle and Steve Rogers would win…just like he always did.

"We have to shut that portal!" Widow called out.

"Right!" Cap said, taking the lead. "Stark, I want-"

BOOM!

The Avengers turned as one, watching as the most improbable thing…after the alien attack on New York led by the Norse God of Mischief…occurred. One of the leviathans roared as a 200-foot tall man in a dark red costume grabbed it by the tail and drove his fist through its stomach, turning its spinal cord into a knotted mess. Its brother turned towards the titanic man, only for the giant to rip the jaw from the first beast and used it to beat down the second, planting it into the ground before he slammed his boot into it's skull.

"Who the hell invited the Not-so-jolly Red Giant?" Stark asked in shock.

The behemoth walked towards them, foot falls covering blocks. They prepared to run, only to watch as the man began to shrink till he reached their size. He stood before them, the lens that covered his eyes flashing.

"You're Fury's people, right?" he asked. "I mean…you are either Fury's people or the circus came early and I would have known that because I always get tickets to the circus."

"Yeah…and you are?" Cap asked, perplexed by the sudden arrival.

"Uh…" Castle trailed off, not exactly wanting to give them his name, since he didn't know how much Fury had given them.

"Ant-Man," Hawkeye said. "You're Ant-Man, right?"

Castle glowered. "I hate that name." A building exploded behind him. "But you know what, considering the circumstances, I think we can use it till we solve this problem."

Widow looked towards Cap. "He's one of us."

"Good, because we could use the help."

The Hulk snorted in disgust. "One punch." He gestured to the leviathan he took down.

Castle smirked. "Well, can't beat that…or maybe I can. You want to make a bet on it? Space Whales are 100 points, fliers are 5, little guys 1?"

"Are you seriously trying to make this a game?" Widow asked.

"Worked in The Lord of the Rings," Castle stated with a shrug.

Stark laughed. "I think I like you, Ant-boy."

The Hulk stared at Castle, jaw clenched. He raised his hand…and smacked him on the back. Castle stumbled slightly, glad his costume had absorbed the blow. "100 points!" The Hulk _**laughed**_ and leapt into the air, giving a delighted battle cry as he began to smash any alien he could find. They could all hear him actually keeping count as he beat down anything that got in his way.

"Got to love someone who enjoys their work," Castle muttered.

Captain America decided it was time to take control again. "Thor, focus on the portal. You have the lightning, so make it work."

Thor twirled his hammer. "I will…" He glanced at Castle, smirking. "I have played such games with the Warriors 3, Giant…and I have yet to lose!" He launched himself in the air, wishing Sif was here to enjoy this new game.

"Hawkeye, I want you up on the building, giving us eyes." Cap turned to Castle. "Ant-Man, take out those giant…things…without damaging the city."

Castle looked over at Hawkeye. "I got an idea, Legolas…but I'll need your help." He leapt at Hawkeye, shrinking down to an inch, and settling in his quiver.

"If you call me that again I will pin you under a microscope," Hawkeye muttered.

"Iron Man, take the West side, see if you can draw them away from the civilians." Cap said.

"Will do. Jarvis, begin a tally, will you?" Stark grabbed Hawkeye and Castle, rocketing up into the air.

"Will do sir."

"I already have 200 points!" Castle's little voice called out.

Black Widow and Captain America shared a look. "Great, now we have another Tony."

"And this one actually makes the Hulk laugh."

"Yup…truly the end of the world."


	8. Chapter 8

inkspire- I did the Lord of the Rings counting game because I wanted give Castle something he would suggest that the others would go along with, and add a bit of humor to the battle.

Marc- Thank you

RogueLeader, Darkly Dreaming and someguyshere- yeah, I love how the team has different relationships with each other. I wanted Cap and Widow to feel like they were replacement Becketts, while Hawkeye is more like Esposito (he goes along with it but also busts his balls). Stark and Thor go completely with the game and the Hulk actually likes Castle, which is such a nice twist.

gnome- Don't worry, I got plans for Beckett.

Finally, am I the only one that would love to see the Castle and Beckett go to London and team up with the cast of SHERLOCK?

* * *

Ryan stood with his fellow officers, gun up and firing at any creature that got near them. They had begun to marshal people into the precinct, figuring that the basement would be safer than wandering about the street, looking to be shot. Gates was barking orders but truth be told none of them were paying attention. Orders meant little during an invasion.

Squinting, Ryan looked down the road, not believing his eyes. "Javi!" He raced towards his partner, firing at one alien as Esposito grappled with another, giving the creature a headbutt. Ryan tossed Esposito his spare and Javier finished it off with one to the head. "What are you doing here?"

"Saw the insanity and decided to help." Esposito fired on another alien as it got too close. "This doesn't mean I'm talking to you."

"Right…just barking orders."

"Exactly." The two moved in tandem back towards the steps of the precinct, taking out aliens before they had a chance to fire off a shot. "Captain, thought you could use another hand!"

Gate glared at Esposito and jerked her thumb towards the door. "Get inside with the other civilians, Mr. Esposito."

"Sir, with all respect-" Ryan ejected the clip and inserted a fresh one, "-we are in the middle of a war! We need all the help we can get!"

Gates, however, was having none of it. "That man is no longer a member of the NYPD! I want him downstairs right-"

They say you never hear the bullet that kills you. For Gates, the same was true of the energy blast.

"Up high!" Esposito swung up, the cops firing upon the invaders that had managed to sneak around them and were now firing from atop the precinct. Gates' ashes got in their mouth but they continued on, even as several of their numbers were reduced to dust.

"Fall back!" Esposito called out, the officers making their way into the precinct. He handed Ryan back his gun and took an assault rifle that had slipped from a dead man's fingers. "Ryan, take the back entrance. We'll hold them here!"

Ryan nodded. "Gates is gone! Esposito and I have the comm.! Half of you with me! Move!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Beckett dove behind a half crushed car, wishing she had her gun on her. So far she had managed to make it within a block of Stark Tower and had only run across a handful of the invaders. They were strange creatures, with gray bodies and glowing purple lights that seemed to come from their very depths of their forms. Their weapons could reduce a person to dust and Kate fought back to urge to attack them, to save the innocents that were caught in the crossfire. As much as she might want to deal out some justice upon them she knew she was outnumbered; fighting them now would only get her killed.

She glanced up at the skyline, smiling slightly to herself. A few minutes ago she had see Castle's head poke from between the buildings as he fought something that looked like a cross between a tank and a killer whale. He'd disappeared after that but she knew he was still battling the invaders…probably having the time of his life.

'If he saves the city I won't ever be able to shut him up!'

The skies overhead cracked with lightning, Beckett unable to see Thor but able to see his handiwork. Several of the invaders fell dead to the street, their bodies charred from his attack. Beckett paused before leaping out into the open, snatching one of their energy guns. Quickly hiding behind a mailbox, she looked it over and found, to her relief, that it had a basic squeeze trigger. She waiting, her patience rewarded when a lone alien trotted around a corner. Taking aim, Beckett fired, reducing him to dust.

She quickly grabbed another weapon and secured it to her waist with her belt. Nodding to herself, she raced forward, diving and rolling to avoid the sudden blasts that came from the sentries that were trying to protect the tower. She heard a roar and just caught sight of a green monster pummeling the guards before she slipped inside the tower.

"Who goes there?" A voice called out.

"Who is there?" Beckett called out.

"Identify yourself."

"I am Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD!" She figured now wasn't the time to quibble about being ex-detective.

The voice didn't speak for several moments. "I assume you are here to help Mr. Stark stop these invaders?"

"Yes…where are you?"

"I am the building. I am Jarvis, Mr. Stark's automated program, in charge of protecting all his devices." An elevator door slid open. "Right this way, Det. Beckett."

"…thank you Jarvis." She stepped inside. Castle was a giant and she held an alien firearm…talking british computers weren't the strangest things she'd dealt with this week. "Are you in touch with Mr. Stark?"

"Indeed. Patching you in now."

The elevator doors closed, but instead of musak Tony Stark's voice filled the air. "Uh, not that I don't love our boys and girls in blue, but I am kinda busy fighting off aliens, Detective."

"I am in your building, Mr. Stark. What can I do to help?"

"Get out of my building, for one."

"Afraid I can't do that."

Stark was frowning, she just knew it. "Listen, no offense, but this matter isn't really a cop thing…"

"I'm actually not a cop anymore and this is my thing. You know the giant guy out there playing King Kong with the flying Moby Dicks? That's my boyfriend. We're partners, so why don't you tell me what I can do to help."

"…Cap, you read me?"

"Loud and clear," Captain America said, Beckett now trying to keep track of the conversation.

"Ant-Man's girlfriend is at Stark Tower. Can you get Black Widow to meet up with her so they can shut off the portal. Figure a little girl-on-girl action might do wonders."

"Det. Beckett, I'll be there in a moment," Widow stated.

"Stay out of sight till Black Widow comes, Detective," Captain America said. "Look for red hair and a black bodysuit."

The lines went dead and Jarvis' voice returned. "While we wait, would you like to have something to drink? I believe Mr. Stark's bar is still open…"

The doors opened to reveal Tony's apartment…and Beckett stared at the limp form of Loki, the Hulk stalking out of the building.

"Puny god," The Hulk grunted.

"…I'm good, Jarvis," Beckett stated.

"Very good, Det. Beckett."

~MC~MC~MC~

"You sure about this?"

Castle nodded, gripping the arrowhead. "Positive."

"Just don't want to get blamed when you fall to your death. The Hulk seems to have taken a shine to you."

"Don't worry. My strength actually increases when I get this small, due to muscle constriction and the Pym Particles. I could probably lift a car-"

"Yeah, that's nice." Hawkeye sighted up one of the leviathans. "Alright, one arrow-express, coming up."

"Hit it!" Castle shouted, gripping the arrow tightly as Hawkeye let it fly. The winds whipped past him and he was glad he had activated his containment helmet, allowing him to easily breathe as his rocketed through the sky. He waited for the last moment before letting go, letting the momentum carry him towards the first beast.

The arrow had just connected when Castle enlarged himself, the leviathan letting out a pained roar as he smashed into it like a linebacker slamming into a kindergartener.

"200 points." Castle shrunk down, leaping onto a passing alien flying platform, throwing the alien from the machine. "205." He leapt towards another one, only to be swallowed by one of the whales.

The beast's jaw twitched, its flight becoming erratic as its mouth was slowly wrenched open. "305…" Castle grunted, only for the jaws to clench around him again. "I said…305…." He ripped the mouth open again, moving to drive his fist through its skull, only to see Iron Man blast through, killing the great beast from within. Stark circled around, catching Castle as he shrunk down and pulling him from the corpse. "That one was mine!"

"Sorry…got to keep up!" Stark set Castle on a roof. "Oh…and I'm at 425."

"Cheater!" Castle shouted, leaping onto another platform. "210…"


	9. Chapter 9

Burn3- Thanks. I work really hard to try and capture each character's voice.

mendenbar and Rye- Thanks

RogueLeader- Not so much hate as find her a waste of space. She was underdeveloped, never really added anything to the show, and her insane demand to be called sir just turned me off. Besides, for what I have planned for the sequels, she needs to be gone.

Scoobycool- Read on!

Michael Weyer-Yeah, I knew I had to do that...its like doing an X-Men movie without the Fastball special

* * *

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other, each leaning on either side of the doorway. Just beyond them, the invaders slowly stalked the staircase, trying to sniff them out. What few officers remained had gone with the civilians to barricade themselves in evidence. Ryan and Esposito had stayed behind to buy them time.

"You ever see that movie Zulu?" Ryan asked. "You know…the English hold a missionary in Africa, and all these Zulu warriors keep surrounding them?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think this is that movie."

Esposito nodded. "Yeah…I think this is 300." He glanced back towards the evidence room. "Kevin…there is still time. You can go in there…you have a wife to think about…"

Ryan shook his head. "No. We're partners…I am not leaving you."

Esposito nodded, ignoring the tears in his partner's eyes as he realized he would never see his wife again. "Then we'll just have to kill them all I guess…"

Ryan nodded, rubbing his face. "I guess so." He cocked his gun. "On three. One…two…"

The invaders let out a cry, several falling to the ground as their heads were caved in by a piece of flying metal. The large disc bounced around the room, striking the invaders, before ending up back in the hands of it's wielder.

"Are you ok officers?" Captain America said. "I was informed by one of your patrolmen that you were held up in here."

Esposito grinned, forgetting his normal hatred for heroes. "Yeah…we're great now!"

"Sir," Ryan called out. "Are you really him? Are you the Captain?"

Steve nodded. "Indeed."

"My grandfather always said you weren't dead." At Cap's perplexed look, Ryan smiled. "Dum Dum Dugan. He served with you."

Cap smiled. "Your grandfather was a good man."

"Sir…they have the civilians protected…Esposito and I want to help. Please."

Cap paused, then nodded. "Alright…Rough Riders, let's move!"

"hell yeah!" Esposito called out, following Cap as he led the charge back up stairs and back to the battle.

~MC~MC~MC~

Beckett had just made it up to the roof when Black Widow leapt from the flying platform, rolling towards her before springing to her feet. "Wow, when they said black outfit I wasn't thinking so…cat burglary."

Widow shrugged. "Government issue. Don't have much of a choice." She made her way towards the machine, then noticed Selving laying on the ground, blood tricking from a shallow cut on his head. "Dr. Selvig, are you alright?"

"I…couldn't stop myself…"

"You weren't in control doctor, there was nothing you could do."

Selvig shook his head. "But…but I did do something. Loki's staff…I was able to build a shut off…hid it from him…his staff is the key."

"Loki…guy in gold helmet?" Beckett asked. The two nodded "That…big green guy…beat the crap out of him down below. I think his staff is still there."

Widow nodded. "Det. Beckett, go get that staff. I'll help Dr. Selvig get everything ready up here."

~MC~MC~MC~

Castle held out his hand, swatting away the invaders like gnats as he used his other hand to collect a group of survivors that had become trapped on the Empire State Building. "Don't worry, I have you!" Castle called out. Once they were all settled he leaned way down and set them down on an undamaged section of the street. "Go hide!" Rising up, he shrank back down and joined Thor and Hulk who were battling against a hundred aliens that had them pinned near Times Square. "Don't mind if I join in, do you?"

Thor smirked, slamming his hammer down on one invader. "No, please do! I am at 475!" He lashed out, taking out several more. "490."

"Better keep up!" Castle said, shrinking to avoid one strike before growing and delivering a devastating punch to his opponent. "I'm at 710."

"Check the chatter!" Captain America said as he rushed towards them, sending his shield flying into one of the invaders. "Widow radioed. Detective Beckett and her are at the tower…"

"Did you say Detective Beckett?" Ryan called out. He'd been forced to abandon his gun and grab several new ones from the precinct, while Esposito had loaded himself with rifle shells.

"What the hell is Beckett doing there?" Castle cried. "I told her to get to safety!"

"Wait…Castle?" Esposito exclaimed.

"…no…"

"Guys, I hate to break up the reunion but we have big problems!" Stark called out over the communicators. "We have a nuke headed right for us!"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Did he say a nuke?" Beckett asked, returning with Loki's staff. She'd made sure to slam the trickster god's head into the ground several times, just to ensure he stated in slumberland.

Widow nodded. "Stark wants us to wait until he has guided the nuke into the portal, then we are to shut it down."

Beckett nodded, handing over the staff. "Alright." She glanced up, watching as Iron Man forced the nuke to change course and rocketed into the portal. "Is there a signal or someth-"

Beckett, Widow and Selvig shielded their eyes as the explosion went off, lighting up the world the portal led too. All about them the invaders dropped, their connection to their mothership cut off instantaneously.

"Look out!" Selvig shouted, one of the flying platforms slamming into the roof. Widow and Beckett were thrown, Natasha nearly falling off the edge.

Beckett rolled onto her back, staring in horror as the raw energy from the blast hurtled towards them. Even with the nuke not in New York the radation from it would still escape the portal…

She scrambled to her feet, spotting the broken staff laying near the machine. The artifact sparked and gave off a strange blue light that flickered like a heartbeat.

"I hope you still work…" Beckett murmured, grabbing the staff and running towards the machine. She grit her teeth, the blue energy spreading across her hand and up her arm.

Widow blinked away the stars that appeared in her vision, turning in time to see Beckett thrust the staff forward. "Detective!"

Beckett screamed as she plunged the staff through the forcefield, striking the tesseract. The energy ripped through her body, exploding from her eyes, her mouth, her ears…her every nerve seemed to catch on fire and her muscles trembled in agony. Her blood bubbled and her organs felt as if they were ready to pop out of her chest like popcorn. Even her voice gave out, leaving her to silently cry out to the heavens as the energy ripped through her very DNA.

And still she held on.

'Castle…Rick…'

A blue tear rolled down her cheek.

'I love you too'

~MC~MC~MC~

Tony Stark groaned. The last thing he remembered was letting go of the nuke…and then Captain America was leaning over him like some Hollywood hunk trying to awaken his lady love. "Tell me none of you kissed me."

Thor let out a laugh. "I feel we must forfeit the contest to Iron Man…I doubt any of us could match his valor today."

The Hulk crossed his arms over his chest. "Hmrph. Hulk smash puny god."

Castle nodded. "Sorry, the Hulk wins."

Stark glared at him, which lost its effect since he was lying on the ground. "How do you figure?"

"Loki is like the golden snitch. You get him you automatically win." The others looked at him blankly. "Come on…no one else read Harry Potter."

Hawkeye frowned. "Do you always mix your metaphors."

"Yeah, he does that," Ryan stated, feeling so tired he was ready to collapse. Esposito kept glancing at Castle, his jaw muscle twitching.

"Guys…" Widow said over the communicator.

"It's ok, Widow," Cap said. "Stark is alright."

"Good, but we need you all here now. We have a man down…it's Detective Beckett."

~MC~MC~MC~

Loki groaned, dragging himself from the crater the Hulk had left him in. The sounds of battle had gone silent and he could no longer hear the Selvig's machine. Which meant either he was deaf or he had lost.

He was hoping for deafness.

Struggling to get himself to sit up, Loki planned for his next move. He just needed to get to the street, blend in with the ground, and find someplace to hide until his wounds healed. Then he could plot his next move. The cube and his staff were lost to him, but he figured that this world held other magics he could use, ones that would…

Loki slowly turned, realizing he wasn't alone.

Hawkeye kept his arrow trained on Loki's head. Black Widow, Iron Man, and Thor stood before him, daring him to make a move.

Groaning, Loki looked away, eyes settling on another sight: Ant-Man knelt next to the prone form of some woman, clutching her hand. His mask had been pulled away and his body trembled as Captain America, one of the few in the group with any field medical training, looked her over.

"Oh…isn't that sweet…the Ant is crying over a bug." Loki let out a little laugh, though Castle didn't seem to hear him.

Someone else did.

Loki let out a cry as the Hulk grabbed him by the skull, yanking him up and forcing Loki to stare into his rage-filled eyes. "Ant-Man make Hulk laugh. Ant-Man love pretty girl. Pretty girl die…" The Hulk squeezed, making clear just what would happen if Beckett was lost.

"Brother…" Loki gasped, "I'm ready to talk terms of surrender."

"Here are the terms, brother…if the warrioress Beckett dies…" Thor smiled grimly, "we let the Hulk _eat_ you."

The Hulk licked his lips.

"But…but…you're the heroes!"

"I'm not a hero…anyone here a hero?" Stark asked, looking about.

"Nope, not me," Widow said.

"Me neither," Hawkeye added.

"I'm a soldier, Loki…I've killed me before," Captain America stated before turning his attention back to Beckett. "Her heartrate and breathing are all over the place. We need to get her to a hospital."

Castle shook his head. "T-there is a SHIELD base in New Jersey." He ran his arm across his eyes. "My mother was leading survivors there." Ryan and Esposito, who had stood off to the side during the encounter, both mouthed 'mother?'. "My lab was there, and it had one of the best medical staffs I've ever known."

The Black Widow nodded in agreement. "Fury will make that our base of operations anyway, with the helicarrier down."

Thor stepped forward. Castle lifted Beckett up and Thor wrapped a powerful arm around the writer. "I will fly you there myself."

"Thor…what about your brother?" Stark asked. "I don't like leaving him here to cause more mischief."

The god of thunder considered this. "Loki must be incapacitated…Hulk, break his arms and legs."

"WHAT?" Loki screamed.

"And his jaw."

"Wait…no! Brother!" Loki screamed, the Hulk growling as he got a good grip. "No!"


	10. Chapter 10

Ttrunks- I don't know about darker...

ScoobyCool and Rye- I knew Hulk had to win, and the Golden Snitch line was just too good to pass up.

Rogue Leader and Darkly- Meh, Loki deserved it.

Burn3- I'd read it

Michael- Damn straight!

UnattributedWriter- That was my nod to the Ultimate Marvel Universe, where the Hulk is a cannibal.

someguyshere- Keep reading...

* * *

Richard Castle was trying very hard to ignore this latest cruel twist.

The heart monitor continued to beep steadily, proving that Kate Beckett was still alive, if barely.

For the second time in his life he was sitting next to the woman he loved, clutching her hand and praying for her not to die. She had been brought down because of the machinations of a madman, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had risked her life to save others and now lay at the steps of Death's domain, forcing Castle to wait with bated breath, wondering whether Death would turn her away or welcome her with open arms, stealing her away from him.

The rest of The Avengers waited outside for word. How funny was it to think himself a member...he'd never considered for a moment joining the team, but his actions had earned him entrance. According to Thor, Beckett too was now a member, a 'grand warrioress who looked upon the end of the world and laughed'. Though the rest had not put it in such...flowery words...they had all agreed that her actions had helped save the day and, in their eyes atleast, both Castle and Beckett were Avengers.

"I brought you something to eat." Castle did not look up as Fury walked into the room, setting a simple paper bag in front of him, the famous golden arches printed on the side. "I talked to Thor..." Fury paused, considering his words, "he said it is hard to tell what the cube's effects would be on a person, mortal or immortal. He said the cube had belonged to Odin for only a short time, recovered from a race known as the Kree. It was awarded to a brave human who stood with them during the final battle with the frost giants..." Fury sat down, the weight of the world on his shoulders. "He said if her condition does not improve he will got to Odin and petition bringing her to his world, to try the healing chambers."

Castle held Beckett's hand, her chest barely rising. The machines continued to beep and click.

"I've talked with my superiors. They've agreed to give you and Beckett whatever you want for your services. If she wants back on the force we will get her reinstated...hell, if she wants to be chief of police I'm pretty sure we can get her that." Fury grew quiet. He was a man use to having a plan for everything, to be able to handle any situation with calm dignity and a will of iron. But to see this brilliant man before him once more heartbroken...it left all his actions impotent.

"I should hate you." Castle did not look up as he spoke the words. "The others told me about the cube...how SHIELD was playing with it and that is what brought Loki down upon us. Another monster SHIELD created...and another woman caught in the crossfire."

Nick Fury didn't say a word. There were many statements he could make, many arguements about why things turned out the way they had. He could easily lay blame at a thousand different feet. It didn't matter...to do so was to disregard his own role in this game. Everyone had a share of the blame this day and all they could do was see just how much blood would end up on their hands.

"I _should _hate you. But..." Castle smiled weakly, reaching up to brush the back of his hand along Beckett's forehead, "Kate was going to do that anyway, even if you weren't to blame. She is self-sacrificing...she is noble. She throws herself in the line of fire because she can't bare to see another hurt. She takes the brunt of it and she does it with a gleam in her eyes. So no...I can't hate you Fury...because then I would have to hate her...and that is something I could never do."

Fury stood up, walking around the bed and placing his hand on Castle's shoulder. Only then did the tears fall.

~MC~MC~MC~

Bruce Banner picked at his salad, ignoring the glib comments Stark was sending his way. The battle had been won, the enemy was defeated, and now the team was sitting in a cafeteria, chowing down while they waited on the status of Ant-Man's girlfriend.

Ant-Man…Richard Castle. Now that was weird. Not because the man was a famous writer…they had a billionaire sitting with them, afterall, but because of the fact that Ant-Man had been the first man to actually make _the other guy_ actually **laugh**. Banner could almost hear the Hulk chuckling the back of his mind over one of Ant-Man's wisecracks. It was startling to say the least; Banner had lived with the assumption that the Hulk was nothing more than his rage and anger given form. But first Betty and now Castle had proven that the Hulk was more than the two dimensional brute he'd assumed the beast to be.

"I'm just saying…we saved the world, maybe go with something other than lettuce with ranch dressing on it. Splurge on a steak. Lord knows Fury can afford it." Tony bit into the prime cut he'd ordered, smacking his lips. "I mean, it doesn't melt in your mouth like some steaks I've had, but it will do nicely." He held out a piece, dangling it inches from Banner's face. "come on, just a taste. Come on…it's not gay, if that's what your worried about. I mean, yeah, it looks like we are on a double date, what with the assassin's playing footsie under the table," Widow and Hawkeye glared at him for that comment, "but come on, just have a bite…one bite…come on…do it…do it…"

"They aren't serving the kind of meat I want," Banner stated.

"I'm sure we can get Barton to fly the jet out to pick you something up."

"I am not your errand boy, Stark," Hawkeye grunted.

Tony waved his hands, sending droplets of steak sauce flying onto Widow's cheek. She glared at him, wiping it away before returning to her grilled trout. Say what you would about SHIELD, they had damn good chefs and a fully stocked kitchen. "Ok, I'll call up Pepper, have her fly some in for you. What would you like?"

"Loki," Bruce said, his voice sounding VERY much like the Hulk. "Rare."

"…Natalie, could we get a leg of Loki up for Dr. Banner?"

"Natalie?" Hawkeye asked.

"I'll explain later," Widow stated.

"Explain what?" Martha said, sitting down next to them, a slice of cheesecake and two martinis balanced on her tray.

"Just how Natalie enjoyed jerking me around last year, pretending to be an innocent assistant when she's really a deadly secret agent." Tony reached over to snag one of the glasses, only for Martha to slap his hand away.

"Those aren't for you." She took a sip of each, smirking before she began to delicately dissect her dessert. "Hmmm, I find I always have a sweettooth after the end of the world."

Hawkeye bit into his BLT. "I'm with Stark; I need some meat after a fight." He paused, a panicked look crossing his face. "Oh God, I agreed with Stark. Maybe Loki affected me more than a thought."

Widow covered her mouth with her hand, snickering, while Banner just laughed out loud. "Great," Tony said, "I'm suddenly the butt of the joke. How did this happen? How did I become Justin Hammer?"

"Having fun?" The group turned to look at Maria Hill, who watched them with a 'I am better than you' look they hadn't seen since Loki had taunted them in the hellicarrier. "Enjoying your meal?"

"Very much so," Tony said, cutting into another bit of steak. "Want some? Banner didn't want any, hurt my feelings."

"No. Unlike you I am too busy trying to clean up your mess."

Banner shook his head. "Just a minor correction: It would be your mess, and we already cleaned it up."

Tony smirked. "Dr. Banner does have a point."

"New York has suffered billions of dollars in damaged because you people couldn't finish off Loki cleanly and you are hear stuffing your faces!" Hill stomped her foot like a petulant child.

"Lay off, Hill," Hawkeye groused. "We just saved the world, give us a few minutes to breathe, will you?"

"You could have been breathing a lot more if you hadn't let yourself get controlled by Loki," Hill shot back.

Natasha shoved her plate back, rising up and approaching Hill. "it wasn't is fault, so back off."

"I will when you people take this seriously."

Tony raised his hand. "I for one always take things seriously. Not my fault you people don't notice it."

"Agent Hill, these men and women are not robots," Martha stated. Widow was still staring down Maria, wanting to deck the witch and trying to find a good reason to do so that wouldn't land her in the hotseat with Fury. "They need time to recover. I am sure after a few hours they will be willing to help out. But need I remind you that you, unlike them, were safely enclosed in that hellicarrier? It is rather unfair to compare yourself to them."

"When I want the opinions of a lush, I will asked for them," Hill snapped, moving around a fuming Widow. Martha for her part, merely smiled and drained her second martini. Hill moved closer, standing just behind Martha as she railed into her. "Bad enough Fury is spending all his time with the crybaby Pym. We have agents who are just as injured as that stupid detective who butted her nose in our business, why-"

The next moment Hill's head was bouncing off the hard metal table, blood splattering on the edge. As she fell Martha's hand caught her by the back of the neck and drove her mouth into the bench she was sitting on, cracking one of the agent's teeth. Hill fell to the ground in a heap, Martha returning to her cheesecake.

"Do not speak about my son and Detective Beckett like that again, Agent Hill, or I will be forced to take more serious action."

Banner looked down. "Uh…I don't think she heard you."

"Wow," Widow said in awe.

"Agent Rogers, you still have it," Hawkeye stated.

Stark took Martha's hands in his. "Marry me."

Martha merely smiled like the diva she was. "Oh…I'm afraid you're not my type."


	11. Chapter 11

"What is taking him so long?"

Ryan looked up at his partner and friend. He'd been busy messing around with the tablet Tony Stark ('Tony freaking Stark! Iron Man!' Ryan's mind screamed with fanboy-like glee) had given him. He'd sent a message to Jenny letting her know that he was ok but he would be VERY late getting home, promising to tell her more once he got home.

'But not everything,' Ryan mentally amended. SHIELD had sent a jet for them and the rest of the Avengers ('Captain America…oh Grandpa, if only you'd lived long enough to see him…') and brought them to this base, where they had been debriefed by, of all people Castle's mother.

They'd been ordered to keep much of what they saw a secret. They couldn't discuss Dr. Banner or let the world know that Richard Castle was the giant that had been stomping around New York. Martha had made it very clear that spilling the beans about much of what had happened would result in them becoming a footnote in history.

And that was assuming SHIELD didn't have some Men In Black-style memory zapper.

They'd been sequestered in a wing of the base with the other New York survivors, given their own private room to talk. Esposito had grumbled about that but went along with it. But as the hours ticked by Esposito's mood had only grown worse and now he was pacing like a caged jungle cat, watching the door for any sign of movement.

"Sit down, bro, you're making me sick."

Esposito glared at him. "Where the hell are they?"

"They'll tell us about Beckett as soon as they can." Esposito's face remained sour. "But…you aren't talking about Beckett, are you?"

"OF course I am!" Esposito exclaimed without conviction.

Ryan slowly stood up. "No…you aren't. You're still focused on Castle being that giant…man."

"And you aren't?" Esposito blasted.

"Of course…but my concern for Beckett outweighs my need to ask questions about how Castle got to be 200 feet tall."

"Well, the least he could do is get in here and explain himself."

Ryan just stared at him, horror and disgust making his stomach feel like someone had dropped a brick in it. "Are you serious? Beckett could be dying and you are more interested in swapping stories with Castle?"

"I don't want to swap anything!" Esposito thundered. "I want answers!"

"We all want answers-"

Esposito got right in his face. "No, you don't. You are more than happy to accept all of this at face value. Castle apparently has superpowers and you aren't even blinking at it! There are people running around who can shoot lightning out of their ears and use the Empire State Building as toilet paper and you just swallow it up with a big goofy grin and go, "Yes sir, Mr. Captain America, sir!" Not me, Ryan, not me. I am tired of getting lied too."

"Those people saved our lives…so yeah, I have a bit of respect for them."

Esposito rolled his eyes. "And you don't care that Castle and Beckett hid this from us?"

"Hid what? We don't even know the whole story?"

"Don't we? How many times have their lied to our faces? How many times as Castle refused to answer questions, or Beckett has gone to whisper in his ear instead of letting us, her real partners, in on the action?"

"Castle is her partner too…our partner too."

Esposito laughed. "You are starstruck, bro. Castle sees us as just a couple more action figures to play with. The Ryan and Esposito figures, mint on card. Don't forget to get your Lanie Parish figure while at the store, kids."

Ryan frowned. "You're letting your anger get the best of you."

"Don't pull any of that Jedi bullshit on me." Esposito shook his head. "And here I thought you'd finally wised up back at the precinct."

Ryan looked skyward, praying to God to keep him sane. "Are you seriously on about the whole talking to Gates thing?"

"Hell yeah I am!" Esposito got in his face, his spittle flicking on Ryan's cheek. "You betrayed us! You went to Gates behind our backs to save your own ass because you were too much of a coward-"

Ryan lashed out, leveling Esposito with one solid, clean punch. The Hispanic man fell to the ground, pain radiating through his skull while Ryan waved his hand in the air, his nerves screaming. "I did it to help you! You two went running off like idiots after a trained assassin! You wouldn't listen to reason! And look at what happened: You got knocked out and I saved Beckett from dying. I-saved-her. If it weren't for me she'd be dead; and she might be dead now but all you care about is your pride and jealousy!"

Esposito rose, rushing Ryan and tackling him. The Irish cop felt the wind get knocked out of him as Epsosito began to rain blows on him.

Then Esposito was lifted up and Ryan stared at the God of Thunder in all his glory.

"You do your companions, the warrioress Beckett and Ant-Man, grave injustice by rutting on the floor like wolf cubs." Thor shoved Esposito away, glaring at him. "We have had enough fighting for one day and we will not add more injured to our numbers. Leave, and do not return until you are calm." Esposito clenched his teeth and Thor took a step forward. "Stand down."

Esposito considered for only a moment making a grab for the hammer that hung on Thor's belt, but thought better of it. His mama hadn't raised a fool and he wasn't ready to get smacked around by some guy with shampoo commercial hair. So instead he merely stalked out of the room, grumbling to himself about needing a beer.

"Sorry about that," Ryan said.

"There is no need to apologize. I have known warriors who need to fight all the time, even in times of peace." Thor grimaced, remembering that HE had been one of those warriors.

"Not to be rude, but is there a reason you're here? Can't imagine a god wanting to spend much time with us mortals."

"There is a reason. Your ally, the warrioress Beckett, still slumbers."

"But she's stable?"

Thor nodded. "Indeed." He placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Do not diminish your worth. I have learned much from you humans and found you to be a grand race. Captain America told us all of your bravery and the warrioress Beckett is one of the strongest of your kind. If she were to come to Asgard I would have her made one of the Valkyrie."

"Thanks. And I would avoid mentioning that to Beckett."

"She would be displeased?"

"No…she'd never shut up about it."

Thor laughed. "My friend Sif would love her…I hope to introduce the two someday." Thor made his way towards the door, his mood turning dour. "Be mindful of your friend, Kevin Ryan, son of Ryans. You are right to say he is jealous and angry. I knew someone like that once."

"What happened to him?"

"He led an army to attack your world."

~MC~MC~MC~

Captain Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, wandered the halls. He hated hospitals with a passion, as they reminded him too much of his sickly youth. He wasn't in the mood to eat either, and walking around where the survivors were resting would only startle them. And there was no way in hell he was joining the SHIELD agents, not after seeing that HYDRA armor. The moment he had seen that he had known, the moment this mission was over, that he would be walking away from SHIELD. To think his government would be taking the same path as the Red Skull…

Steve had decided to wander the base, trying to clear his mind of the battle. It was strange to think about…in his head, twenty days ago he had been onroute to capture the Red Skull…and now he was 70 years in the future, a man without a home. Everyone he knew was most likely dead or ravaged by old age. He just couldn't bring himself to visit them.

There had been a few surprises. The detective, Kevin Ryan, being the son of Dum Dum was something that made him at once smile and frown. To meet someone related to his friend…and to realize that the man's grandson was older than he was…

He paused, noticing a light on in one of the rooms he'd past. Slowly backing up, he peered within and found it to be some kind of shrine. All about the walls were clippings and pictures, all featuring the same woman with dark hair and a bright, brilliant smile. In some she was with a young man, one Steve realized was Ant-Man when he had been only 20. Others had her hugging a stone-faced Fury (Steve chuckled at that), and playfully giving bunny-ears to other agents.

The main feature of the room was a large display case. Within was a mannequin wearing an outfit that Steve recognized as a sibling to Ant-Man's costume: a black body suit designed for a woman, with golden lines and patterns running along its surface, complete with the same little box Ant-Man wore on his waist. This suit, however, also had what appeared to be a thin backpack and two strange gauntlets. A plaque with the name Janet Van Dyne was right under the case.

The sole occupant of the room was a lean girl with a shock of red hair. She was seated on the floor, staring up at the case as if it were the Holy Cross and she was a pilgrim come to give prayer. Steve took a step forward and the girl leapt up, her movements making it clear someone had trained her to defend herself.

"Whoa! Sorry to startle you miss!"

The teen looked at him, considering him for a moment with her small, thoughtful eyes. "You're one of them, aren't you? One of the Avengers?"

"Yes. But my name is Steve." He took a step forward, wondering if this was one of the New York survivors. If so, how had she managed to wander away from the group. "You know, where I'm from, it's polite to give someone your name when they give you theirs."

"Alexis. Alexis Castle."

"You're Ant-Man's daughter."

Alexis frowned for a moment. "Ant-Ma…oh man, they are really calling dad that?" She chuckled. "His name is Rick. Rick Castle."

Steve nodded. "Your father is a brave man. A lot more people would have died today if it weren't for him."

Alexis smiled at that. "He's the greatest."

Steve moved away from the doorway, settling down where Alexis had been sitting on the carpet. He knew it shocked her, considering he was still wearing parts of his Captain America costume, which is why he did it; he'd found early on that if you startled someone they were more likely to be honest with you.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

After a moment Alexis joined him, finding the whole situation surreal. She was sitting with Captain America, chatting like they were best friends in high school. Steve sat with his legs stretched out while she was Indian style, the muted lights (and Steve wearing a bodysuit that looked pretty much like pajamas) giving the whole thing the feel of a slumber party.

"I wanted to see this room."

"What is that?" Steve asked.

"I use to live here, with my father and mother." Alexis' voice grew quiet. "She died here."

"I'm sorry," Steve said.

Alexis felt like a baby, trying to stop the tears that threatened to come pouring out. "Some…madman killed her…because she was in the way. She died saving me. I…I don't even remember her."

Steve didn't know what to say. Women weren't his strong suit…the last woman he had talked to had been Peggy, and he had assumed she was 'fondue-ing' Tony Stark's father.

But while he knew he shouldn't speak, words poured out of him nonetheless. "My best friend died a month ago." He frowned, his jaw muscle twitching. "I mean 70 years ago."

"I'm sorry," Alexis said, echoing his words.

Steve nodded, gulping down the pain. It hurt to think of Bucky, his best friend…his brother, if not by blood, was gone. More than anything that had ever happened to him, that pain ate at him and threatened to consume him whole. So, he did what every good soldier did: he bottled it up and focused on something else. "So…could your mom…do what your dad does?"

"You mean become King Kong?" Steve smiled at that; he got that reference. "Yeah. Dad wouldn't tell me, but gram admitted that when the first discovered the Pym Particle…that's the thing that lets them grow and shrink…they accidentally enlarged themselves to 50 feet. Took them a few days to get it fixed." Alexis shuddered, remembering her grandmother's passing comment that one night her mother and father and disappeared into the woods and the next day agents had found a large, woman shaped-dent in the forest. Mommy and daddy have giant sex was not something Alexis wanted to hear about.

"And what about you? Can you…" Steve held up his hands, pulling them away to mime 'growing'.

Alexis, instead of answered, slowly stood up and made her way to the case, running her hand along the glass. "This was her suit. She built it so she could grow and shrink." At Steve's raised eyebrow she elaborated. "Pym Particles only make living organic matter shrink. When mom and dad first grew, they burst out of their clothing."

Steve chuckled at that. "I would say that would be quite a sight…but, well, those are your parents."

"Thanks. These suits grow or shrink with them, so it means they have something to wear." She sighed, turning away from her mother's uniform. "Why are you talking to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're Captain America. I'm just some girl. Shouldn't you be off chatting with the other heroes."

Steve considered her words for a moment. "A very wise man once told me that what mattered the most wasn't the strength of a man, but his heart. What kind of hero would I be if I saved people then refused to treat them as equals?"

"You're right…he was very wise." Alexis sat down again, staring at the case. "What are you all going to do now?"

"Thor is going to take Loki back to their home. Widow and Hawkeye will go with Fury and I guess Banner will go where he wants. Stark will…do what Stark wants."

"And you?"

Steve shrugged. "I don't know. The whole world has changed…I kinda want to see it."

"Where are you from?" Alexis asked.

"Brooklyn."

Alexis grinned. "Then I think you should start there." She considered not speaking her next thought, but decided to risk it. "My dad and I live in New York too. You're welcome to look us up…we'll help show you around."

Steve smiled. "I'd like that." Rising, he walked over to the case and, without preamble, ripped to lock off and took out the suit, handing it to Alexis. "I think this would be better off with you."

Alexis took the suit and gauntlets with wide eyes. "But-"

"Hey, I saved the world…I figure SHIELD will let this slide." He smirked as he headed out the door. "And I can always blame you."

"Hey!" Alexis shouted, earning a laugh for the super soldier.

~MC~MC~MC~

They say Madame Death is cruel.

She comes without warning. She comes without fanfare. She comes for us all. You can not barter with her, you can not fight her, you can not stop her. When she wants you she takes you. There are those that hate and fear her and spend their lives waging a losing war to prevent her coming. There are others who love her, who see her power and glory in it. It is hard to tell who is crazier.

Madame Death is cruel.

"Castle?"

Richard Castle blinked his heavy eyes, staring at the most wonderful sight he'd ever laid his eyes on.

"Beckett? Kate?"

Kate Beckett smiled softly, reaching her hand up to stroke his cheek.

"I love you too."

Castle practically leapt onto the hospital bed, holding her tight.

Madame Death is cruel

But sometimes even she goes for the happy ending.

~MC~MC~MC~

**LIES MY PARTNER TOLD ME**

_A Castle/Avenger Fan Fic by Mr. Chaos_

Starring (In Order of Appearance):

Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle/Ant-Man

Stana Katic as Kate Beckett

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Kristen Bell as Janet Van Dyne

Aaron Eckhard as Franklin Hall

Jon Huertas as Javier Esposito

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill

Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle

Susan Sullivan as Martha Rogers

Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark

Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan

Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Selvig

Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster

Seamus Dever as Kevin Ryan

Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner

Chris Evans as Captain Steve Rogers

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Scarlet Johansson as Black Widow

Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye

Tom Hiddleston as Loki

with Kevin Allen as The Great Pope Hat Thief

The Avengers and the Cast of Castle will return Summer 2012 in 'Fallout'

~MC~MC~MC~

Stark Tower- May 14th, 2012

"Sir, there is an intruder on the top floor."

Tony Stark didn't have time to get his armor, so he settled for slipping on the gauntlet he had been working on repairing, rushing up the stairs. He skidded to a stop, staring at the intruder.

The young man glanced at Tony, his hands firmly wrapped around Loki's abandoned helmet.

"I'm gonna need you to drop that," Stark told the blonde haired thief.

"Sorry…it's on my shopping list."

The man raced towards the edge of the building, ducking a repulse blast before diving off the edge, Stark just making it in time to see the tail ends of his duster disappear in a flash of light.

The next moment the thief was cursing as he landed hard on his back, groaning in pain as he looked about the strange room, decorated with all many of mystical items. "Damn it Doc! You said that spell wouldn't hurt!"

"It doesn't if you do it right" 'Doc' said, never looking up from the book he was studying. "Did you get it?"

The thief nodded, handing over the helmet. "You know, when you recruited me for this job, it sounded pretty cool. Be your apprentice, master chaos magic…but now you're making me look like a klepto! I have the news already jabbering about me stealing the Pope's hat, now I got Loki's helmet! They are going to think I got a head gear fetish!" He stood up, rubbing his bruised back. "And we don't even keep them! The Pope's hat you ripped up to line my jacket, and now you're…" he tilted his head as the Doc took the helmet to his work bench, "melting the helmet. Wonderful."

"Wong has some food, if you are hungry," The Doc said, chanting softly as he dropped Loki's helmet into the cauldron.

"can you at least tell me your master plan here?"

"…no."

The thief glared at him."You are one strange man, Doc."

~MC~MC~MC~

And introduce Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange

~MC~MC~MC~


End file.
